Bolt
by diamondwine
Summary: They say soulmates exist. Angelina Johnson and Draco Malfoy discover the truth in a freak accident.
1. Chapter 1

Quidditch was terrible in the vicious rain. It started to thunder and it startled me a moment as I flew past the stands and up into the clouds. I could barely see through my goggles. Wondering if anyone else was having the same problem, I saw Draco for a split second flying towards me through the clouds at a dangerous speed. I gasped, waiting for the impact. I braced myself and went crashing into Draco, practically falling off my broomstick. The contact was like a ton of bricks crushing my chest. I saw a bright flash of light and heard a deafening clap, and all went black.

When I came to I recognized the familiar ceiling of the infirmary. With a sigh I began to sit up, but curtly slowed down when I realized how much pain I was in. I whimpered and reached for my legs. They were bare and I was in a cream colored gown, and suddenly wondered just how long I'd been lying there. It appeared to be night as a few torches were lit around the hall. I stopped looking when I saw Draco Malfoy laying a little ways to my right in the bed beside me. He seemed to be asleep. I slowly recalled my last moments of consciousness. This is _his_ fault, that prick! He should've been watching where he was bloody going! Boy was I gonna hex him senseless as soon as I got better. I wondered impatiently whether we won the game or not as I glared over at Draco. And then I noticed something on his chest, which was exposed from under the blanket where he lay on his back. It appeared to be a burn of some sort. It looked rather painful, and I hoped it hurt, but as I was wishing ill against him, I felt a burning sensation at my own chest. I peeled the gown I was wearing back a bit and found the same sort of burn on my chest. It hurt something fierce. I had never been struck by lightning before; I'd never even so much as had a sunburn. The more I wished the wound was causing Draco pain, the more it hurt me. I fell back, overcome with the pain. I began to cry out, at which point Draco awoke, wondering what the noise was all about. I was crying it hurt so much. Madam Pomfrey came rushing from her office to help me. She told me to calm down and I wondered why she wasn't just giving me a potion or something to stop the pain—I was screaming my bloody head off. Draco was looking on with the strangest expression on his face. He seemed to be in pain as well but was handling it much better than I. I wanted to beat the life out of him—it was his fault I was here in the first place! Madam Pomfrey finally injected me with something and I was unconscious…

When I woke up again, it was daytime. I looked around and saw Draco sitting up in the bed across from me. He turned slowly and glanced over at me, and quickly away when he realized I was awake. He still didn't have a shirt on and I wondered why, but then I realized the bandage on his chest. It looked like Madam Pomfrey had bandaged him up, and I noticed the same thing on my own chest. It was odd; our wounds appeared to be in identical places. I started feeling angry again, just wanting to hurt Malfoy, and then the pain came back. I started breathing frantically.

"You're going to want to stop that," Draco spat over at me, keeling over slightly as if he were in just as much pain as I was.

"Shut up! You idiot—I—"

I was cut off when Draco fell out of bed on the floor. He seemed to be in extreme pain. I wondered if I was using magic to hurt him. I was wishing it so badly that maybe I'd willed it. Madam Pomfrey came rushing over to Draco and helped him back into bed, telling me to stop. I had to listen since I was already in so much pain. As soon as I took my mind off of Draco, he stopped writhing in pain.

"What's going _on_?" I demanded, sitting up and feeling weakened. Draco whipped around and faced the opposite direction so his pale back was to me. Madam Pomfrey began to explain what had happened when we got hurt at the Quidditch pitch. Apparently we'd both been struck by the same bolt of lightning when we collided, which explained the identical wounds and bandages on our chests.

"You're both lucky to be alive," Madam Pomfrey informed us, placing a potion for the pain on each night stand. She went on to say something about this same lightning bolt having passed through us simultaneously, having caused some sort of magical reaction to interwind us somehow. At that point I stopped listening, wondering what exactly she'd meant by that. Draco pulled his shirt on and stood up weakly.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"I know you two are on rival teams, so there must've been some tough feelings, but when you felt so much pain it was because you were willing it upon Draco, thus feeling what he consequently felt."

I was so confused that I didn't even know where to start.

"This sort of incident is rare but not unheard of," she explained. Draco was still standing there, with his back turned to me.

"Elemental magic is an odd form of magic. Lightning can strike through a piece of the soul, the only part of the body that is nearly magically impossible to access, unless through dark magic which very few have actually mastered. When the two of you collided, you were in physical contact at the time of the strike, which must have forced a piece of your soul into Draco's, and consequently, a piece of Draco's soul into your own. It's sort of like a switch, if you will…" as Madam Pomfrey carried on I felt myself feeling even more and more confused, and then I was horrified.

"I'll be late for breakfast," Draco said, starting off quickly before Madam Pomfrey could force him to take any more medicine.

"Are you saying…we're bloody _connected_?"

"Not to worry, dear. You're lucky the two of you didn't just swap souls entirely, otherwise you'd be walking around in his body," she said, pushing the potion into my hand from the nightstand. The thought of that horrified me even more, but I didn't know whether to scream or cry, or what, for that matter. What in blazes had just happened to me?


	2. Chapter 2

As I left the infirmary, I was still trying to figure out exactly what it meant to have a piece of Draco's soul in mine, and for a piece of mine to be in his. After I had dinner at the Great Hall, I couldn't shake this feeling of fear the entire time, though I was sitting with Harry, who'd informed me that the game was scheduled for a rematch due to the accident involving Draco and I; we couldn't have finished the game without the other team's seeker. I kept zoning out, not really listening to everything Harry was saying. Alicia snapped her fingers in front of my face at one point but I could barely pay attention to anything. That night, I didn't sleep well at all. I kept tossing and turning, this feeling of fear and worry intensifying, but it was strange because it didn't feel like I was worrying because of the accident, it was an unidentifiable worry. Having had enough tossing and turning, I got out of bed and visited the lavatory. After I splashed some cold water on my face, I looked up into the mirror, but for the quickest second, it wasn't my face I was looking at in the mirror, it was _Draco's_. I gasped, falling back on the floor for a second. I stood up and looked around and in the mirror again which displayed my own face this time. No one was around. It was only me. I shook my head, believing it to be stress and nothing more. But I still couldn't get to sleep when I went back to my bed. I sat up, looking around at everyone else in deep sleep. I got out of bed again and went to the common room. I snuck out of the tower, something I'd only done a few times before in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep. I went to the astronomy tower, where the early October air was pleasantly brisk. I stared out at the stars. They were beautiful. I read some of the constellations and started to feel at peace. The floorboards creaked and I whipped around.

"Who's there?" I asked, holding my wand with a shaky hand. I looked around and spotted a figure not too far away.

"I'm warning you," I called, though my voice was somewhat shaky. The footsteps approached and I heard a sigh.

"Put your wand down, Johnson," Draco spat in annoyance, stepping into the moonlight. I immediately relaxed, but for some odd reason, my heart pounded when he came closer.

"What are _you_ doing out of bed?" I ask angrily.

"I could ask you the same," Draco growls, placing his hands on the rails and gazing up at the stars. I sigh.

"Thanks for ruining my view," I said. Draco ignored me, "This is all your bloody fault, you know," I said, accosting him, "If you'd have been watching where you were going—"

"Come off it!" he barks, stepping towards me menacingly. There was no more than half a foot between us then. Draco looked like he was going to say something again but paused, staring at me.

"…What, you think I _like _having a part of my soul in some nasty girl?" he asked sarcastically, snarling and looking me up and down. I'd absolutely had it. I was going to hit him. I raised my hand to slap him dead in the face and he caught my wrist with such fast reflexes that it startled me, like he'd been anticipating it.

"_Don't_ _ever _touch me," I said, pulling my wrist back.

"You're gonna fix this," I said angrily.

"How? It's not possible, according to Madam Pomfrey," he said, this flash of worry appearing on his face for an instant.

"This _cannot_ be happening," I said, backing up, staring at him in disbelief. I felt my eyes watering. I started to shake my head, not wanting to believe it. And then I wondered something.

"Why did you come up here?"

Draco took a few slow steps towards me and I had to stop backing up; it was as if there was a magnetic attraction that I was feeling as he approached.

"I—I don't know. I just felt like I had to, like something was here for me. I couldn't bloody sleep," he said, trying to keep the snarl on his face, but it was slowly replaced with a curious stare. Again I found there to be no more than half a foot between us. I felt this gravitational pull, like it couldn't be stopped. I pulled my kimono robe tighter around me, finally shivering a bit at the chill. Draco's glance turned downwards and he seemed to be watching my hands as I tied it tightly.

"What the shit are you looking at?" I asked trying to sound as pissed off as possible.

"_Nothing_," Draco said forcedly, whipping his face out towards the night. But it only remained there for a handful of seconds before he turned back to me. _I should slap you in your bloody face…give you a black eye! _I was thinking. Draco slowly narrowed his eyes at me.

"You wouldn't hurt me," he said. I was taken aback, wondering if he was reading my thoughts.

"As a matter of fact, you _can't_," he said, grinning in this amused way. I frowned because the more I thought about it, the more I knew he was right; for some odd reason I just couldn't bring myself to attempt to strike him again. The first time I tried a minute before, I'd felt the urge to lessen the blow before the impact occurred. I shook my head stubbornly.

"What do you think you're doing? Reading my thoughts?" I scoffed.

"I don't have time for this nonsense," I said, shaking my head and starting towards the door. Something stopped me. I felt Draco's hand hot on my wrist and I whipped back around. I was telling myself in my head that I should punch him out. I shouldn't wait a second longer, but instead, I felt drawn to him like a magnet and took a step towards him.

"Get your bloody hand off me," I said slowly, menacingly. Draco wasn't smiling and he wasn't frowning. I wasn't quite sure what expression it was he was giving me, but it made my heart race a million miles a second.

"Hold on a second," he said, taking a step closer. I stared at his pale ass hand wrapped around my wrist. His grip tightened a bit, yet I didn't try and pull away.

"Draco," I said warily, surprised at the softness of my own voice. His brows were pinched together tightly, like he was fighting a war with his thoughts. He shook his head, uttering something I could barely hear.

"What?" I asked, frozen in place. I cocked my head slightly, honestly curious then. Draco stared at his hand on my wrist, talking to himself.

"What?" I asked. I couldn't hear him. I stepped closer and closer still. All I wanted to know was what he was bloody saying! I tried to reassure myself that that's all I was doing. His grip tightened even more, almost uncomfortably.

"Stop," I said and he finally looked up at me, and the next thing I knew, our faces were pressed together in a failed attempt at a kiss. I couldn't believe myself. What was getting into me? This is _Draco Malfoy_, a Slytherin, an asshole. What was I doing? But I quickly realized that it wasn't just me as Draco grabbed both my hips on a whim, our foreheads knocking.

"Ow," I said, realizing he'd said it simultaneously.

"What the hell?" he whispered, going for my face again and this time making it to my lips. I was frozen in disbelief. And then I tried to back up, but it just didn't feel wrong. In my head, it was like I was dying to knee him in the groin, but in my heart it felt right, and even beyond that it felt like I was drawn to something much greater, and it was inside of Draco.


	3. Chapter 3

In my mind I was still in absolute disbelief as Draco untied my robe and I started to pull off his PJs. What in blazes were we doing? It was like neither of us really understood why, but we were still doing it anyway. We were naked on the floor of the astronomy tower. I could see the stars in the sky from where I was lying with Draco on top of me, both of us breathing heavily. I couldn't focus on anything other than the fact that I was feeling good. Draco moaned and started to rock his hips faster. I wasn't sure if it was the thrill of the possibility to get caught or the fact that it was Draco Malfoy that was making me feel so insane. I dragged my palms down his back, which felt stronger than I would ever have imagined it to be, not that I had _ever _imagined sleeping with Draco, of all people. He moaned fearlessly, and I really prayed there wouldn't be a prefect or professor walking around this late. I'd die if we got caught doing what we were doing. When we finished, Draco sort of collapsed on me and I felt crushed. After a few seconds I snapped out of it and started to freak out. What had I just done? This was awful. I shouldn't be here and I shouldn't be with _him_. I pushed Draco off of me and quickly began to get dressed. I heard Draco stand up behind me. He fumbled to pull his pajama pants back on and I just threw on my robe and tied it tightly, grabbing my clothes and starting for the door.

"Hey, wait a minute," he said desperately. I turned around for a second and stared at him before running out of the tower and down the stairs. I didn't stop running until I made it back to the portrait where the fat lady eyed me with judgment. I glared at her and uttered the password and went up to the girl's lavatory. I went into a shower stall and leant against the wall, catching my breath. _What have I done_? I thought, feeling as if I were losing my mind. I just had sex with Draco Malfoy! I was going to be sick. I slid down the wall, feeling a lump in my throat…the entire time, it had felt like I didn't really have control over my actions. It was like I just wanted to, like I had to. I'd felt this insatiable pull between us. I'd never felt that with anyone before. I wracked my brain aimlessly, and then it hit me. Maybe it was because of what had happened to us. If there was in fact a part of my soul in Draco's body, maybe that's why I felt this magnetic pull when he'd get near me. It was the only reason I could think of to explain why he'd just randomly showed up where I was in the astronomy tower. He'd said it felt like he had to go there, like there was something waiting for him. Perhaps it was the piece of his soul in me that he'd been drawn to…_then why did we bloody shag? _I wondered angrily. I shook my head, and cried. I felt like I was going crazy. I felt out of control.

I was so happy it was a Friday morning. I really hadn't been able to sleep the rest of the night so I was in zombie mode as I walked towards potions with Katie and Alicia, who snapped her hands in front of my face like she had at dinner the night before.

"What's up with you, Angie? You look dog tired today," she said.

"I didn't get any sleep," I answered robotically. As I sauntered into the classroom, I sat at the front seat and stared ahead of me. Somebody walked past me, causing me to snap out of my daze. I glanced to the left and saw Draco sitting at the table beside Alicia and I. He was looking over at me like he'd never seen me before. Quickly, I looked away, and opened my book to start flipping through the pages of my potions text. I looked back over and Draco was still staring at me, seemingly fixated.

"Hey, want to switch places?" I asked Alicia, who was busy talking to Parvati about what we were going to do for the weekend.

"Huh? Why? Hang on," she said quickly before resuming her conversation with Parvati. I started to feel this tension like I'd never felt before. Draco wouldn't stop _looking _at me! I was going to lose my mind if he didn't stop. I looked up at Professor Slughorn who began writing down ingredients on the blackboard. I was relieved when Blaise sat beside Draco, somewhat blocking his view of me. But Draco peered around Blaise at me. Blaise looked at Draco in confusion and then turned his gaze in the direction Draco was staring. I stood up from my stool so hard that it knocked over. I grabbed my book and threw it in my bag, and then stepped up to Professor Slughorn and told him that I wasn't feeling well. I reminded him of the Quidditch accident from the other day and told him that I thought I should go see Madam Pomfrey. He dismissed me with some concern on his face and I rushed out of the classroom, Alicia staring confusedly at me. I didn't spare a glance back because if I saw Draco again, I was going to have a meltdown. I _did_ go to the infirmary, however. I told Madam Pomfrey that I needed the morning after potion. I told myself I wasn't going to make the mistake of sleeping with Draco again, although I left out the bit about who it was I'd slept with. Madam Pomfrey didn't pry at me for more information than that and brought me the potion. I skipped my classes for the rest of the day and stayed in the library, finishing homework. I was able to take my mind off of things by writing my entire paper for transfiguration. I had completely lost track of time and realized that it would be dinner around now. So I went down to the Great Hall and found it to be nearly empty, last minute students hurrying along for dinner. I grabbed something quickly before going back to the library, where I spent such a long time that it was late at night when I decided I'd written enough for charms and wanted to put away the reference book I was using. No one ever stayed in the library on Fridays, so I didn't see anyone around. As I was walking towards the reference section, I paused; I thought I'd heard someone walking behind me. When I turned around, no one was there. I shrugged and continued towards reference. I was just about to reshelf the book when I paused, sure that I could hear someone nearby. I looked around and again there was no one. I sighed in agitation, hoping that it was just Peeves fooling around. I was right in the middle of putting the giant text back on the shelf, reaching on my toes when I felt a presence. I turned around and the book fell behind me. I jumped with shock upon finding Draco standing there.

"Jumpy, aren't you?" he asked sarcastically, cocking a brow. I had my hand clenched over my heart. He'd scared me badly.

"_What the fuck_?" I breathed, regaining my composure.

"What the hell are you doing? Go away," I said, picking the book up and turning around to reshelf it again.

"Well, I, er…" he began. I finally got the book back on the shelf when I turned around to find Draco standing there still. I eyed him warily before turning down the aisle. I wasn't going to do this. But as I stalked off, I felt the odd magnetic pull. I wanted to stop but I fought it and kept going. That didn't stop Draco from following me.

"I just wanted to _talk_," Draco said, sounding as though he were speaking through gritted teeth.

"There's nothing to talk about," I said blatantly, returning to my table and preparing my things to put away in my bag. Draco stopped with a breeze on the opposite side of my table, placing his hands on it and looking at me.

"Are you serious? What about last night, on the astronomy tower…?"

I shook my head vehemently.

"That was an accident. Just stay away from me! Okay? I don't have time for this," I said, shoving my last text into my bag. Draco stood in my way when I attempted to walk past him. I closed my eyes.

"Get the hell out of my way."

"So that's it?" he asked in disbelief.

"You're kidding, right?"

"How did you know where I was? Stop stalking me," I said, glaring at him. But the expression on his face was hardly evil.

"Johnson, wait. I know this is weird. D'you think I like it?" he asked, pinching his brows together for a second.

"I don't know…and I _don't_ care. I'm not talking to you. I don't want anything to do with you," I said quietly. "So move."

"It's not that easy," he said.

"And I'm _not_ stalking you. It's weird, and I _know_ that you feel it too. No matter what I do, I find myself…finding you. It's like some sort of force. Don't tell me you don't feel it too."

His eyes were suddenly pleading, icy as they were. I felt mine water. I didn't want to do this, but I found myself feeling less and less able to fight it.

"I can't do this. I don't _care_ if there's a piece of your soul in me—I want nothing to do with you!" I shouted, starting around him again. Draco blocked my exit.

"You can't be serious. Why would you do this to me? Why did you sleep with me?" he asked. I looked up in his face where his eyes were watery.

"You're just going to act like nothing happened? …Everyone's always so bloody sure that I'm an evil person, but what you're doing to me right now tops it."

I looked at him like he was crazy, though I felt that what he was saying was true.

"But you _are_ evil. And I don't want to be with you—whether it's magic that's done it or not."

A solitary tear dripped down Draco's pale cheek and I felt horribly.

"You really don't know the half of it, Johnson," he said, anger in his voice but sadness on his face.

"Just stay away from me," I said again, shoving past him and walking quickly for the door.

"I can't!" he called after me. He didn't follow, but all the while I could feel the pull of that piece of my soul I was walking away from.


	4. Chapter 4

And then I stopped. I was in the doorway of the library. My heart was beating out of control. I closed my eyes. This just couldn't be happening. I didn't want to fall in love with Draco Malfoy, or whatever messed up type of thing this was. I knew that I couldn't handle _not _being in control of my life; that was something I always had to be, and this was stopping me from being in control. I heard Draco approach me. Most of all, I was afraid of getting hurt. I couldn't let anyone do that to me. I'd had my share of liking a guy only to end up heartbroken. I promised myself I'd never let that happen again. I could practically feel Draco breathing behind me.

"Please," he said, "I…"

He was as speechless as I.

"Whatever this is, we need to fix it. We _can't_ do this. I can't be with you," I said, not turning around to face him. Draco turned my shoulder so I found my face in his.

"No one has to know," he said quickly, verbalizing what I was thinking as a bleachy brow rose slyly on his forehead.

"What would people say if they saw us together? I'm a Gryffindor, and you're not. Your reputation says enough. I can't get mixed up with you," I said. Draco looked at me as if I'd shot him, although he knew this was the truth.

"You don't have to say it like that," he said defensively.

"I don't understand. You don't even like me," I said in a blasé manner. Draco raised his eyebrows even further in disbelief.

"We had sex. That doesn't mean anything," I said, averting my gaze to the ground and shrugging.

"Are you daft? What do you mean it didn't mean anything? …You know you felt that strange…pull. It's magnetic. You wouldn't've done it if you didn't feel it, too. You wouldn't've done it unless you like me."

I laughed without humour, "And what makes you think that I like you?" I asked, attempting to sound as sure as I could, though I felt the opposite.

"Look, I realize this is really strange, but…I can't stay away from you. When I woke up in the infirmary and I saw you, it felt like…"

"_Like what_?" I asked. Draco placed his hands on my shoulders and stared down at me. He looked dumbstruck.

"It's the lightning that's done this to us," I said, still fighting the feeling that I was trying to suppress. Draco's hands traced down my sides until they stopped at my hips.

"It can't just be the accident. I've always sort of admired you, Johnson," he said honestly. I was beginning to feel very uncomfortable, but in a pleasurable way, if that made any sense at all.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're a tough witch…You play Quidditch fearlessly. You just seem stronger than those other girls. You're not hard to notice," he said, eying me up and down as if I were naked. I grabbed his wrists but I found it difficult to pull his hands away. I was transfixed as I stared up into his glass-like eyes. He leant down slowly and kissed me, breathing into my mouth. I felt a sudden thrill as if I were lighting fireworks. I stopped trying to fight what I was feeling and let the kiss deepen. For someone so cold, Draco's skin was warm as he pulled me in by the waist. He stepped towards the wall and backed me into it. I found my right leg clutching his side and I'd dropped my bag on the floor. He squeezed my hips and I moaned into his mouth. He pulled back and glanced down at me. I sighed.

"This is just…weird," I whispered. Draco's lips crushed mine again. I pushed my hand through his stark blonde hair. I could barely breathe. I broke the kiss.

"I…I need to get back to my common room," I said, wondering what time it was. Draco smirked.

"Why? Let's go to the astronomy tower." He pressed his forehead against mine so the tip of his pointy nose touched mine. I stared down shyly and felt my cheeks burn.

"I don't want to get into trouble," I said quietly.

"I shouldn't even be here this late."

"Come on," he said, running his hands over my waist and grabbing my bottom. He kissed me again and I lost all sense of reason. The two of us rushed out of the library…

Draco walked with me a little ways before I paused at a staircase.

"I need to say the password before I go in, so you'd better get going," I said. He stood where he was as I started to descend the staircase, reluctantly letting go of my hand.

"Why can't I walk you there? Don't you trust me?" he asked jokingly. I couldn't laugh. It felt wrong to be walking away from him, the pull increasing with each step. Every time I glanced back, he was still watching me. I couldn't believe I was doing this. The weekend felt too long, something I never would have felt before all of this. I wondered when I would see Draco next. He became all that I could think about. Any time we were apart, it felt like a piece of me was gone. I hated it. But we had to be careful not to be seen together. It would only make things more difficult. As I sat in the Great Hall beside Ginny at dinner on Sunday, I stole a few glances over at the Slytherin table. Draco was there talking to Pansy Parkinson and I felt the strangest sensation. Jealousy? Anger? A bit of both, as he cackled at something she'd said. She batted her lashes at him, and I gripped my fork uncomfortably. She tapped him on the shoulder playfully and he looked a bit put off for a second, turning away from her to talk to a guy sitting beside him. He saw me for a second and I looked away, not wanting anyone to realize I'd been watching him.

"Don't you just hate them?" Ginny asked, tearing me out of my thoughts.

"I tell you, at that rematch, they'll lose," I said angrily. I had to make it look like I hated him as much as he hated us.

"Why didn't you come to Hogsmeade with us on Friday?" Ginny asked, cutting into a piece of pot pie.

"Alicia said you were coming."

"O-oh, I had a huge paper to write so I stayed in," I said. It was the truth but I left out the bit about sneaking off to the astronomy tower with Draco. I closed my eyes for a minute and recalled my hands on his bare chest and the moon shining in on us from above in the astronomy tower. I shook my head before I got completely lost.

"You know, I'm going to go up to bed," I said yawning before stepping away from our table. I knew Draco was watching me as I left the Great Hall. I made my way up to the astronomy tower and stared out at the night, inhaling the fresh air. I didn't wait long before I heard someone walking up behind me. I smiled but didn't turn around to see him. I finally felt his chin at the top of my head and two pale hands appeared on the rails on either side of mine where I was standing. I felt complete all of a sudden, the way I did when he was touching me. He pushed my hair over my shoulder and started to kiss my neck. And then I couldn't take it anymore and turned around to start kissing him.

"We can't get caught," I said, pausing. Draco nodded his head, pulling my hair back and kissing my chin and neck, which felt so good that I moaned.

"Tomorrow's the rematch game," I said, interrupting him.

"And you're going to lose." Draco laughed.

"I'm afraid you have that backwards, Johnson."

I pushed him away from me half playfully.

"I didn't mean it," he said desperately, moving in for me again and I laughed.

As I tore through the clouds, the wind whipping my face felt good. We were losing, as Draco had foretold, and I was just praying that Harry would find the Snitch before the game went on too long. When finally he did and we won, I flew down to the ground where the team was collecting to cheer. Draco looked furious as the Slytherins booed us, throwing their brooms down. For the slightest second, he smiled over at me and I felt my blood rush…

One day I was walking to potions with Hermione and Ginny, Harry and Ron having a conversation with Seamus behind us. I had been rushing from herbology, still holding an armful of books when I felt them knock harshly out of my arms and onto the floor. I looked around and found Draco standing there peering down at me. There was a wicked grin on his face.

"Watch it, dip shit," Ginny spat, pausing and helping me to collect my books. Draco laughed maliciously.

"Now I guess we _really _know whose fault it was at that Quidditch match; Johnson's blinder than a newborn dragon," he said, Blaise and Pansy at his side breaking out into a laugh. I saw a bright flash and Draco went flying into a column, where he hit his back and his face contorted into a pained expression. Harry was just stuffing his wand back into his robes, smiling satisfactorily.

"You're no good, Malfoy. Don't think I'm not onto you," Harry said.

"Are you okay?" Pansy asked, rushing to Draco's side and grabbing his arm. I felt this strange anger when I saw her touching him. He pulled his arm away, replacing the look on his face with one of contempt.

"Don't touch me," he muttered, too proud to accept her help as he stood up and started to brush himself off. He didn't look at me. I had a feeling that if he did, he'd blow cover.

"Up yours, Potter. The boy who sucked. Much better title, innit?" Draco asked cruelly. Harry ignored him.

"Here you are," Ginny said kindly, opening my bag and placing the books inside. Ron was glaring with his chest huffed out at Draco. Blaise, Pansy, and Draco stood there with their arms crossed pretentiously as we started to walk away.

"Ron," Hermione whispered, pulling Ron away, who appeared to be in some sort of death stare match with Draco. I couldn't help but laugh at this a little bit. Seamus shook his head.

"That was weird," he said. "Come to think of it, I've never seen Malfoy pick on you. It's usually Harry," he said, glancing back suspiciously at Draco. I shrugged as carelessly as possible.

"That prick," I said emptily. Hermione, Seamus, Ron, Ginny, and Harry eyed me oddly for a second or two; I hadn't sounded angry at all. When conversation resumed, I glanced back at Draco who was staring after us. When I looked at him, his eyes flitted to mine for about half a second. We made it to potions and I sat down with Seamus, who I was afraid to work with since we had partners today; I didn't like the idea of ending up with a bomb in the cauldron.

"Bet you ten galleons I can figure out how to set the brew on fire and empty the classroom," Seamus said, picking up the ingredients that were sitting on the table. I swatted some sort of weed out of his hand and he giggled. I went into my bag and searched for my potions text. As I was pulling it out, a small piece of wrinkled parchment tumbled out. I picked it up, not remembering it being there. I always kept my rucksack neat and tidy. I uncrumpled the piece of parchment and saw a note written on it in this neat handwriting I didn't recognize. I read it in my head. _Meet me at the Womping Willow_. It wasn't signed or anything but I didn't need a signature to know who it was from. I glanced at the front of the room where I usually sat and saw Draco there. He was laughing with Blaise about something. Professor Slughorn was running late for class, I realized, as everyone was lost in deep conversation.

"How _'bout_ it?" Seamus asked impatiently. He snapped his fingers near my ear. I hadn't heard what he was saying.

"No," I said. "How about you switch with Hermione so I don't have to worry about blowing up?" I asked seriously, though Seamus laughed and told me to relax. He said something about a technique he'd learned from Fred and George about causing potion explosions to get out of class. I just shook my head, wondering why Draco would want to meet near the Womping Willow, of all places…

When class got out, I hurried back to the common room to shower and change. When I'd sat on my bed pulling on a pair of my nicest tights underneath the skirt I'd recently bought, Parvati and Padma stared at me curiously.

"Where're you off to in such a hurry?" Parvati asked.

"And looking so nice?" Padma added, admiring my outfit.

"Oh," I said, trying to hide the blush.

"I'm just going to see a friend."

I looked at the twins and they looked at each other in that way that says, yeah-right-she's-up-to-something. I scoffed.

"Well, mind your own business," I said, hurrying off.

I made it out to the grounds and when I approached the tree, I could see a tall figure leaning against its trunk, having immobilized it. As I drew nearer, I recognized Draco. He was staring at his wand, cleaning it off when he heard me approaching, the October leaves crunching beneath my feet. He smiled immediately.

"Sorry I had to bump into you like that earlier. There was no other way," he said shrugging and putting his wand away.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked with concern, pulling me into his long arms. I stared up into his icy blue eyes and shook my head. He grinned and wasted no time in kissing me. I hadn't had the chance to say anything before the throes of passion took me over. This wasn't the type of kissing suitable for public, and I was happy that no one else was around to see us. I felt myself go weak at the knees and Draco lifted me, literally onto the tips of my toes in his arms. I was hardly breathing and I started to feel light headed before he let me go. I kept my eyes closed, palms on his chest to regain my composure. I heard him laugh slightly. It was a stuck up laugh, but not quite like the one I'd heard earlier. I felt him touching my hair, felt him looking all over me without looking once myself.

"The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice," he said lowly in this seductive voice that made me quiver as he ran his fingers firmly up and down my spine. Finally I opened my eyes and found his as piercing as ever looking into mine. I was about to speak but lost my words when he kissed me again. It wasn't long before I felt the crunch of leaves under my back and Draco was pulling at the waist of my tights. I stopped him and looked up, pushing his blonde hair back from his pale face, which was reddening from the chill and the passion.

"I'm not doing this out here," I said, cocking a brow.

"Oh please, floor, ground, same thing," he said, leaning his head down again. I stopped him and he frowned as I began to sit up. We sat there in the grass, my legs strewn over Draco's so that our bellies nearly touched. He was smiling down at me.

"What's the matter?"

I shook my head. This was still so strange. I was used to seeing him be so malevolent, but now it was the antipode as he laced his fingers between mine and I got lost again staring at the pallor of his digits interlocked in the deepness of mine.

"Uhm, did you want to talk about something?" I asked slowly. Draco kissed my forehead and inhaled.

"No…I just had to see you," he said.

"It drives me crazy, you know, when I can't. When we have to pretend."

I knew exactly what he was talking about, recalling the rude way he'd pushed into me in the hall earlier.

"I know I should probably have just stayed away from you, but I couldn't resist," he said honestly. He closed his eyes, kissing my fingers. His lashes were so fair they nearly disappeared against his skin. My heart was beating a million miles a minute.

"Next Friday is Halloween. We've got the three-day weekend. I was wondering," he began, his eyes opening again and shocking me with their piercing gaze, "if you'd want to go away with me, to the Leaky Cauldron, or summat. I dunno, I just don't feel like staying on the grounds all weekend, and I'm not going home," he said, with this distant look. I was surprised to be honest. I wasn't sure what to say.

"Please, Angelina," he said, and he begged. I realized that it was the first time he'd addressed me by my first name. I felt the twinge of something crazy in my chest when he'd said it.

"Uhm…"

"I'm _so_ stressed—I can't take it. It would be nice to get away from the castle. Think about it; we wouldn't have to hide like we have to here," he said, stroking the back of my leg which caused me to shiver.

"Please?" he asked again, squeezing my calf.

"I've already got the room rented and paid for."

I felt compelled, but not because of what he'd said, it was because I wanted to go.


	5. Chapter 5

*Today I've been feeling exceptionally sick and cannot get 'I'd Rather Go Blind' out of my head. After I showered when I got home from work I laid down because I'm exhausted, as usual, but I started thinking too much, as I always do, and started crying about the last person I liked. The _last_, because I've chosen not to do it ever again…It's been seven months since my heart broke and I hate that I'm still not over it. Writing these stories is an escape for me; anything I want to happen happens, and nothing else.

The sun was on the horizon and I was starting to get cold. Draco was sitting there with me, still clutching my hands, which had begun to feel like a part of his body instead of just mine. I shifted, my legs having fallen asleep.

"I think we should go in," I said, betting that Alicia and others were wondering where I was. It was only Thursday and I couldn't wait until a week from Friday to go to the Leaky Cauldron with Draco. Saying it in my head, it just seemed unbelievable. Draco only smiled and kissed my fingers, shaking his head reluctantly and I sighed.

"Aren't _your _friends going to wonder where you are?" I grinned. He rolled his cold eyes and started to stand up, knowing I was right.

"Damn, I've got a paper due tomorrow that I have to finish," he said, brushing himself off. We started in the direction of the grounds, but Draco paused.

"We should probably go in separately," he said. I nodded.

"Wait here, maybe ten minutes or so," he said, approaching me and threading his arms around my waist for a final kiss.

"Can we meet tomorrow?" I asked hastily once he stopped kissing me.

"I-I have something," he said, scratching the back of his head and glancing to the side through the corners of his eyes, and I couldn't help suspecting something.

"It's not that I don't _want_ to—"

"No, it's okay," I said, pushing at his stomach.

"Go. It's getting cold out here." I said, rubbing my shoulders.

"Then you go first," he said, guiding me in the direction of the castle.

"Okay," I said. I started to walk off. I glanced back at Draco a few times, knowing he felt the unpleasant strain of the magnetic force as I stepped further and further away. He stood there in all black with his hands in his pockets, and even as my heart beat ruthlessly, he started to look more and more conspicuous the further away I got, until he looked like a foreboding figure in the distance and there was the faintest flicker of consternation in the pit of my stomach…

I used to find potions to be one of the most _boring_ classes, but I did think that Professor Slughorn was a nice change from Snape, so I couldn't really have complained. As I walked past the table where Draco was sitting with a hand cupping his chin as Goyle prattled on about something, I felt like I was going to faint. I hated how it felt to walk so quickly past Draco and not stay there.

"I'm exhausted. Bloody shut up," I heard him say as I took a seat with Katie.

"I feel like I haven't seen you all week," she said, pulling her text out of her bag.

"Parvati and Padma said you went out last night. Did you sneak out of the castle or something?"

I turned to face her.

"No, of course not. I just had to go talk to someone, a friend."

"_Right_," she said sarcastically as she winked and nodded her head. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help smiling.

"It's _nothing_. Nothing serious, really," I explained, trying not to come off as ditsy.

"Said you got really dressed up. Are you _sure_ it was nothing?" she pushed, twirling her hair in an interested fashion.

"Come off it," I said a bit defensively.

"Yeesh, woman. Well, you're going with Ginny, and the rest of us after classes, right? We missed you last week, for some reason," she said curiously.

"Angie, I'm your best friend. You think I don't notice when something's going on with you?"

I didn't say anything.

"It _must_ be a guy. So tell me…" she laughed.

"You know I'll find out eventually," she said.

My eyes went wide and my heart pounded.

"There's a lot going on for me right now, so don't pry. I _mean _it," I said seriously.

"Alright. I was just wondering what you've been up to…"

Professor Slughorn ambled to the front board, saying something about flower-growing potions.

"I heard that you and Malfoy got struck by lighting at that last Quidditch accident. How come you never told me?" Katie whispered. I felt my heart stop for a second.

"Er, it wasn't a big deal. I'm alive, aren't I?"

Katie looked at me in disbelief, popping a piece of chocolate from her pocket into her mouth.

"How's it not a big deal?"

"_Ladies_," Professor Slughorn chimed, stepping towards us. I cleared my throat.

"If you wanted to explain the procedure, all you had to do was raise your hand."

Katie shook her head and I stared at my notes.

"Alright, then please stop the chit chat and listen up. Thank you!"

Katie rolled her eyes again and looked more bored than ever. I glanced back and saw Draco at the table behind the one Ginny and Neville were sitting at. Draco was sitting up straight but his eyes were closed like he was sleeping. Ginny waved at me, thinking I was looking back at her. I grinned and turned back to the board.

At lunch I really struggled to take Draco off my mind and stay concentrated on the conversation I was having with Katie, Alicia, and Ginny. We were going to Diagon Alley to visit Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I laughed to myself, wondering how Fred and George were doing. I started to feel a bit at ease as the day came to a close. Ginny, Alicia, and I accompanied Harry, Ron, and Hermione into Diagon Alley and I was honestly excited to see Fred and George. I'd heard good things about the shop and couldn't wait to see it for myself. We pulled open the door and filed into the crowded atmosphere. I was at once amazed by all the different gag contraptions and knickknacks. I was walking towards an item when a pair of hands shielded my eyes. My instincts were to freak out and scream. I grabbed at the hands and a familiar laugh met my ears. I turned around to find Fred laughing joyfully.

"_Fred_! You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack!" I said, catching my breath.

"Angie!" Another familiar voice said and I turned behind me to find George. I grabbed them both by the collars and caused them to collide, knocking foreheads slightly.

"Ouch!" They said simultaneously, before turning to face me. I crossed my arms and tapped my foot.

"I'm in here for no more than five seconds and you pull a prank on me," I chastised half jokingly.

"Haven't changed a bit," they said. I laughed; Hogwarts wasn't quite the same without their constant comical relief. I hugged the twins simultaneously and each wrapped an arm round me.

"Heard you were struck by lightning last week," Fred started, staring down at me with wide eyes.

"Really? Who'd you hear that from?" I ask.

Fred and George eyed each other for a second.

"Dean and Seamus. They were in here last week and couldn't shut up about it. But everybody knows it was Malfoy's fault for bumping into you. The prick is blinder than a bat," said George with contempt.

"Are you alright? Suffer any brain damage?" Fred asks, placing a hand heavily on my shoulder.

"I guess I was knocked unconscious for a bit, but it was fine. I'm fine."

"Want to get back at the prick?" George asked. Fred smiled dangerously.

"I've got just the thing," he said, scurrying away mischievously. Fred laughed and I already knew they were planning trouble for Draco. Fred looked down at me and gave me an honest friendly smile.

"So, how has Quidditch been going otherwise? Are you getting senioritis yet? You've a year to go," he said. I shrugged. Fred mimicked me. I laughed. I hadn't spoken to him alone in such a long time. It seemed like I was starting to lose touch with my closer friends; all I could think about was Draco, but I wasn't very well going to discuss that with anyone I knew!

"You look tense. You alright?" Fred asked seriously, noticing the expression that I'd failed to suppress. I nodded. He punched my shoulder jokingly.

"It's Friday. The party's just about to start. Relax!"

"Dung bomb!" George shouted, sliding to Fred's side, placing something into my hand.

"Trust me you'll get a laugh out of this. Serves Malfoy right for knocking you out cold."

"It's on us," Fred grinned as I began to reach into my pocket for some galleons. I ran into Romilda at the love potions and rolled my eyes at them.

"I've heard these work," she said absently, clinking bottles together as if trying to decide which one was the right pick, though they were all the same exact brew.

"You know, if someone's meant to be with you, it'll happen. I don't believe in love potions. They don't _really_ make guys love you; they're just stark raving mad under the effects of the potion."

Romilda flicked her hair back and cleared her throat, ignoring what I'd said before finally picking up a potion and sauntering towards the register.

I got through the week by force. I forced myself to focus on my work. I couldn't fall behind. But every time I tried to sleep, Draco was all I could think about. I'd wanted to rendezvous at the astronomy tower, but started casting sleep charms on myself. I was starting to get worn down from missed sleep. If I didn't sleep, I would've failed the big potions exam we had for Thursday. I found myself sitting there going slowly and cautiously over my answers, only a few students left sitting to finish the exam before the long weekend. I was glad we had it then so I wouldn't have anything to worry about while I spent my weekend away with Draco. When I finally stood up to hand in my exam, I noticed that Draco and I were the last two left in the room, Professor Slughorn having dozed off where he was sitting.

"Professor," I said, stepping to the front. Slughorn jumped as though he'd heard a fire alarm before blinking at me, smiling, and accepting my exam. I nearly bumped into Draco as I turned around. He smiled down at me and I went back to my table and grabbed my bag. He handed his exam to Professor Slughorn, who wished us both a good weekend before we started out of the room. As I walked slowly out into the hall, I felt a cool hand grasp mine. I looked around to make sure no one was there to see before I smiled up at Draco. He whispered the room number in my ear before hurrying off. I was a bit sad to miss what I knew would be a fun All Hallow's Eve feast in the Great Hall the following night, but as I hurried back to the common room and grabbed a large backpack and started filling it, Draco was the only thing on my mind.

"Going somewhere?" Hermione asked, casually walking by my bed wrapped in a towel.

"Home for the long weekend," I lied.

"Have any special plans?" she asked.

"Nope. Just home. Might hang out with some friends tomorrow night for Halloween," I said, embellishing the lie.

"Nice. Well, I hope you have fun," she said before I rushed off.

"Thanks," I called after her. I was rushing so fast that I nearly tripped down the stairs. I crashed into Ron on the way out.

"Where's the bloody fire, Angelina?" he asked.

"On your head," I joked before scrambling out.

When I got into Diagon Alley, I wasted no time in making my way to the Leaky Cauldron. I was making it to the room when I began to feel the familiar pull I always felt when I drew nearer to Draco. I knew I was headed in the right direction. Before I even opened the door, it swung open and Draco pulled me inside. As the door slammed shut, my back against it, I realized that Draco wasn't wearing a shirt. My bag was crushed against my back on the wall. Draco pulled it off my shoulders and then pushed me up the wall where I wrapped my legs around his waist. We started kissing madly. I felt absolutely insane. I couldn't control my mind or my body as I melted into his. Draco turned swiftly and walked over to the bed where he let me fall and wasted no time in pulling off my robes which I hadn't bothered to change out of before arriving.

"It's been driving me mad all week without you," he breathed hastily before kissing down my chest. I moaned and rolled my head back, closing my eyes to enjoy the moment. It no longer felt so foreign, the way it sort of had the first time we'd done this. As I pulled my hands through his downy blonde hair, he groaned deeply. I looked at him and his piercing eyes were already on me as he began to move against me, grasping the backs of my knees from where he stood on the floor. I had a perfect view of him and he was rough, causing me to moan. He smiled without teeth, satisfied at my reactions. After a minute or two, he pushed me further back onto the bed and mounted me, rocking his waist desperately. I felt so much pleasure that I couldn't tell up from down as I gripped the sweating small of his back and clawed. Draco paused in the moment of his orgasm and his face was all so real then; vulnerable and honest like I'd never seen it before. Panting, I reached my hand up to cup the reddened cheek, and he turned his face to the side to kiss the palm of my hand messily. He sighed with relief and it hit me like a gust of wind, but it felt good and all I could see and feel, smell and touch was Draco. He was every part of me, inside of me, in my mind, and in my heart. As my blood rushed like fire in my veins, I realized that I was in love. I had to be. It wasn't just some soul swap; I could feel those feelings you only know when you really feel them. Draco gazed down at me, still catching his breath, a bead of sweat dripping off his brow, and I hoped he was thinking the same thing. He slid off me and lay there on his back tiredly. I had no words, I was all feel. Draco ran a hand against the inside of my leg softly, which tickled but I couldn't laugh. I just couldn't believe it was him I lay beside. I never would have seen something like this coming—not with him. His hand stopped moving and he was quiet. I smiled and sat up, running my hand over his smooth chest.

"Draco?"

He was sound asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

I sighed, resting on my elbow and looking at Draco's sleeping form. His chest would slowly rise and fall with each breath he took. I still couldn't believe I was there with him. It seemed like a strange dream from which I was still waiting to wake up. I couldn't help how right I felt, though in my head I could still think of this as strange. I got up and went to my bag on the floor. I took out a fresh top and a pair of jeans, a pair of really nice underwear that I never thought I'd seriously have a purpose to wear, and a bra. I placed these items on the table top and then grabbed my shower stuff and quietly tiptoed into the bathroom. After I'd showered and dressed, Draco was still asleep. It was getting late and my stomach was growling. I decided to go out into Hogsmeade and find a restaurant. I didn't want to wake Draco up. I stopped in Madam Puddifoot's and enjoyed myself. I had a nice cup of chamomile tea and decided I wanted to go back to the room and try getting some work done. The door swung open again as I was opening it. Draco stared down at me with what looked like surprise. He sighed and something told me he was relieved to see me.

"Where did you run off to, baby?" he said, pulling me into the room by my waist. My cheeks blazed.

"What did you just call me?" I asked. Draco smirked and eyed me up and down.

"For a minute there, I thought you'd ditched me," he said. A drop of water fell off the tip of his nose and hit the hardwood floor. Without thinking, he pulled the towel from around his waist and was completely naked in front of me as he walked towards the bed to get dressed. I felt somewhat shy then, but couldn't look away from his bottom as he stepped into a pair of knickers. I went into my bag for my charms text and a scroll of parchment. I dropped them rather loudly on the table with a sigh. Draco whipped around to see what the noise was.

"Are you _serious_?" he asks, pausing in putting his shirt on.

"You're doing _homework_? _Now_? You do realize there's no class tomorrow," he said approaching me.

"Yeah, but if I finish it all now, I won't have to worry about it for the rest of the weekend. Then we can do whatever we want," I said, cocking a brow seductively.

"What, you think the course load is gonna slow down just because we've a three-day weekend?"

Draco shrugged, stepping closer to me.

"I do all that crap Sunday night, when there's nothing fun going on at the castle," he said, drawing his arms across his firm chest. He smiled at me suggestively, closing the gap between us.

"Merlin, you're so…studious. D'you ever have any fun? You'd rather spend the first night off doing homework?"

As he questioned me, it became more and more clear that we knew little to nothing about each other.

"I'm a hard worker. I guess I was brought up that way. I'm on the headmaster's list. You don't get there by shagging the nights away," I grinned. Draco laughed and it was an honest laugh. It wasn't snooty the way it usually sounded when he'd laugh at a joke while hanging out with the Slytherins. It was…real. I'd made him laugh like that. He placed his hands on my hips and stopped laughing slowly. He leant down and kissed me. I placed my hand on his bare stomach and it growled. He pulled away slightly.

"What d'you have to do for a meal around here? I bloody ordered room service as soon as I got up. Bloody house elves," he spat, pinching his brows together in frustration.

"Shit service here. Sorry I couldn't've taken you somewhere nicer," he said, gazing down into my eyes. I felt the pull so strong then that I couldn't move an inch. Draco kissed me again and my world was spinning. I got dizzy and weak and sort of fell into his arms. It was almost as if he'd expected me to, as he caught me and pulled me up against his chest so I was on my tiptoes, swaddling me in his arms. I sighed unbelievably and felt Draco smile against my lips.

"This is bloody amazing," he said in a low voice, running his fingers teasingly up and down my back.

"I've never felt this good with a girl before. Who cares if it's just magic? I don't want to go back to Hogwarts. I just want to stay with you."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but I felt it.

"When you touch me, I can't breathe," I whispered breathlessly. At that Draco kissed me again and I found myself off the floor completely and held in his arms bridal style. He was a lot stronger than he looked, carrying me with ease to the bed where he lay me carefully and kissed me senseless. I felt like I was in some other world; every nerve ending in my body fired out of control. It was utterly overwhelming, to be quite honest. I thought I might faint if Draco didn't stop. He began sliding his slender fingers under my belt buckle when there was an abrupt knock on the door.

"Room service!" came a squeaky little voice, belonging to what I knew to be an elf. Draco sighed, not wanting to get up from me, but his stomach growled again and I pushed up on his shoulders. He got up and walked to the door, giving the little elf hell when he walked in pushing a cart of food.

"Draco," I said discontentedly when he nearly swatted the elf for taking so long to bring the food. He paused in motion and looked at me.

"What are you doing? Don't hit him. Be nice," I said firmly. The little elf's legs stopped shaking and he smiled at me. I went into my bag and gave him a generous tip while Draco wasted no time in starting in on a drumstick. The elf toddled out of the room and shut the door. Draco rolled his cold blue eyes. I stared at him.

"What? Want some?"

"Why are you so mean?" I asked.

"…What do you mean?" he asked hastily after a thick swallow.

"To that elf. You didn't have to get violent with him."

"It was late bringing the food. Was I supposed to smile like a gnome?" he asked sarcastically, his tone somewhat biting. The fact that he'd called the house elf "it" was even more unnerving. I shook my head, deciding that I had too much work to get done in order to be able to enjoy the rest of the weekend. I took a seat at the table and started to read the assigned pages of my charms text, taking notes as I went along. I felt Draco at my side and looked up at him.

"Are you angry with me?" he asked concernedly. I sighed, feeling exhausted from the week.

"No. I just think you should be nicer, is all," I said as I focused back on my reading. Draco pulled out the chair beside me and sat there and placed his chin in the palm of his hand to watch me. I looked up at him for a second and continued reading. He sighed so I looked up at him again, pausing in writing down a definition. At the next interruption I felt something on my head and glanced to find Draco twirling a bit of my hair. I couldn't fight the smile coming on.

"Let's get back in bed, yeah?" he said lowly, clutching my knee cap with a hot hand. I felt my heart race but shook my head.

"I've just got to get this done, okay? Might as well finish your work, too, so we can have all of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to do what we like."

Draco rolled his eyes and then burped before pushing his hand up against my hip bone. At that point I couldn't keep ignoring him.

"_Draco_," I said in annoyance.

"_Angelina_," he mimicked. I laughed and he took the opportunity to grab me and pick me up from my seat. He had me over his shoulder before I could object.

"I'm serious! Let me finish! It will only take a few hours."

"I can't wait that long—I've been waiting all week," he complained, sitting me on the bed once more. I stood up and he slyly pushed me back down by my shoulders. I was laughing, but I did want to get my work out of the way.

"Angelina," he said, his face contorting into desperation. I stood up again and he kissed me, again taking my breath away and making me stay put. When I felt his warm chest up against me all I felt was sensual. When I moaned into his mouth, I felt him smile, and he goaded me to lie back once more where he started to strip me down, and I forgot all about my homework…

I woke up to the sight of tousled blonde and blue staring at me. He smiled when he saw that I was awake.

"Hello," he said. I wondered if he'd been up all night watching me. I yawned and he pulled the covers slowly to reveal my back. He moved in to kiss my shoulder and then looked at it. He brushed his index finger along the straight line that was a scar on my left shoulder.

"What's this from?" he asked curiously.

I sighed.

"When I was…I dunno, twelve or thirteen one of my male cousins pushed me into a wall. I really don't know how I got it because there was no blood, but it gave me a deep gash that took forever to heal."

Draco looked puzzled.

"Why'd he do that?" he asks. I shrug.

"I have six aunts and two uncles, and all my cousins are boys. They always liked to roughhouse."

"Maybe that's why you're so tough," he said, sitting up on his elbow. I turned around and let my head rest on the pillow, closing my eyes for a moment. I felt the blanket drift down slowly and Draco's fingers played at my skin again.

"What are these from?" he asks, drawing a diagonal line across my stomach.

"Chicken pox scars," I say, glancing down at the three little dark circles.

"Chicken pox, what's that, like dragon pox?" Draco asks. I nod, forgetting that there was a difference between Muggle born maladies and those in the wizarding world.

"Damn, you are fit though." Draco grinned and slowly maneuvered atop me. My air escaped upon his weight.

"It's Halloween," he said.

"Oh, yes. I almost forgot," I said. Draco leant down to kiss me, disregarding our morning breath. I listened and could hear it raining outside.

"So, what are we going to do?" he asks me, blinking down at me. I pushed my hands through his blonde hair.

"I don't care," I whisper. He grins and rolls off me, resting on his back with his hands behind his head.

"I just want to sleep a while longer," he said, sighing and closing his eyes. He rolled towards me and pulled his arms around my naked waist under the covers.

"Draco," I said.

"Huh?"

"Is…is Pansy Parkinson just your friend, or is there more to it than that?" Draco is quiet for so long that I have to look over at him. He's looking at me with some curiosity.

"She's just a girl. She's nothing," he said emptily.

"It's just the way that she looked at you the other day. It wasn't a friendly look, if you know what I mean. I think she likes you."

"What are you on about? I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"I know. It's just…I don't like her."

Draco smiles, intrigued by my jealousy.

"She's got nothing to do with me. Don't worry about her, yeah?"

"Uhm…"

"What?" Draco asks, leaning in towards me closer.

"D'you think you could, I don't know, ignore Harry. Not pick on him when we're in the halls and stuff. Sometimes you just get so mean…"

"I don't always enjoy being that way. I know I'm a prick, but I'm not _that_ horrible. I can't very well ignore my reputation. Harry hates me. Either way, we'd be likely to fight."

"You could just ignore him," I say, turning on my side.

"Why are we talking about Potter?" Draco asks, a hint of aggravation in his voice.

"I just would like to see you be nicer. And not mainly to Harry, how about everyone? You haven't been a prick to me, so I don't see why the way you treat everybody else can't change."

"You're not everybody else, Angelina," he said, growing a bit angry.

"Why are we even talking about this? We're on holiday. Can't we just enjoy ourselves?"

"Can't I just _talk_ to you?" I ask raising a brow.

"I don't want to talk about Potter, alright? I've been dealing with enough shit—that's part of the reason I wanted to get away for the weekend. What's gotten into you?" he asks.

"Nothing has gotten into me. I was just hoping I could convince you to change your attitude, now that I've seen you're not all bad," I said, feeling defensive. Draco finally glares at me.

"I don't _have _an attitude," he says.

"Really? Then what's this?"

He rolls his eyes and turns around, sitting up. He starts to pull his boxers on, having decided he's done talking to me. I stare at his back angrily, until I notice a scar on his scapula. I hadn't noticed it before. It was so faded but I was close enough to see it now.

"What's that?" I ask. Draco pauses in pulling on his pants and turns his face to the side.

"_What_?" he spat.

I sit up and pull my hand along the scar on his back. He pulls away from me, standing up.

"Nothing," he says angrily, throwing his shirt on and walking into the bathroom where the water starts to run. I sigh, pulling the covers up to my shoulders, feeling not so great all of a sudden. Draco comes back out of the bathroom and pulls his shoes on.

"I'm going out," he says, swiftly walking towards the door.

"Happy Halloween," he mutters without even looking back at me before slamming the door shut. _Great, Angelina. Look what you've done_, I thought.

"Happy Halloween," I say to myself. I get up and brush my teeth and shower. I order something to eat and then plow through the rest of my homework, the rain really coming down outside. I wondered where the hell Draco had gone off to. He didn't come back for so long that I got tired of waiting. I sighed and started throwing my stuff back into the bag I'd brought with me. I figured there was no point in sitting in a stupid room all day if he wasn't going to spend it with me. I finished grabbing all of my stuff and pulled the door open. I went downstairs and outside into the pouring rain. I went back to Hogwarts. It was dinner time when I got back to my bed in the dorms. I put my stuff away hastily and went down to join my friends in the Great Hall. I felt a bit angry about the stupid little row Draco and I had, but I wasn't going to let it spoil my entire day. Perhaps it was mean of me to just take off but I had the feeling he needed space, as did I.

"Angie? What are you doing here?" Hermione asks when I slide between her and Ginny, who is also surprised to see me.

"Uh, I just decided to come back. I didn't want to miss Halloween," I said, forcing a smile. Ron passed me a bowl of something and I started to fill my plate. I glanced over where Draco would normally be sitting but I just saw Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Pansy. I felt myself glaring when I saw her, though she didn't see me. She sighed and pushed food around on her plate, looking bored out of her mind. She'd usually be talking to Draco and laughing, so I assumed she missed him. I smiled, feeling a wave of happiness wash over me at her wishing he was there.

"Angelina!" Katie cried, finally catching my attention.

"Hermione told me you were going home for the weekend," she called from a few seats down the table.

"Came back," I called. She said something about a party in the common room after dinner and smiled. I tried to take my mind off of Draco and enjoy myself.


	7. Chapter 7

I had fun with my friends as we played the Weird Sisters and card games, throwing confetti from our wands and gossiping by the fireplace. There was so much candy that it was ridiculous and I stopped eating after some caramel from a candied apple got into my teeth.

"I was talking to a girl from Hufflepuff earlier and she said she saw you in Hogsmeade," Padma said, leaning against the couch where I sat with Katie and Hermione.

"Must've been my doppelganger," I said, shrugging uninterestedly. Padma pressed on anyway.

"No, she saw you walking in the street, when it was raining earlier."

I finally turned around to look at Padma. Hermione looked confused.

"That's not possible; I went home for a night then decided I wanted to come back," I said, wanting Padma to shut up. She shrugged and walked away.

"Dunno what she's talking about," I said, grabbing my bottle of pumpkin juice and taking a rather large swig. I choked a bit and started coughing. Katie shook her head, laughing. I wondered if it wasn't really firewhiskey in her bottle as she started rubbing Seamus' back with her socked feet where he sat on the floor. He didn't seem to mind much. I rolled my eyes at Katie's flirtatiousness.

"What do you suppose Padma was talking about?" Hermione asked me. I shrugged.

"I dunno," I said, a bit too defensively. I couldn't have Hermione on my tail too. She was smart and she'd have figured it all out if given just a bit more information.

"I wasn't in Hogsmeade, I was at my house. Whoever it was that thought they saw me, she was wrong."

My bottle was empty and I excused myself to get some more. As I stepped through the crowded common room, I started to feel that strange pull. It grew a bit stronger as I stepped towards the portrait hole entrance. I paused there, and the sensation abruptly dissipated, until it was so faint that I could hardly feel it. Then it was gone. I didn't have to see anyone to know that Draco had been there. I stood away from the crowd in the portrait hole, unable to decide whether I wanted to go see Draco or not. And then I wondered if I should've been angry that he'd figured out where the entrance to the common room was.

"Johnson," Cormac McLaggen said with a smirk, scaring me out of my thoughts so much that I dropped my empty bottle of pumpkin juice. He caught it with the reflexes of a cheetah and smiled down at me.

"What're you doing over in this dark corner? Come enjoy the party," he said.

"What?"

Cormac took a step towards me and gave me these eyes that I automatically deemed inappropriate. He extended an arm against the wall beside my head, which I glanced at.

"A girl as beautiful as you should not be sulking in the corner at a party like this. You're too good to be a wallflower."

"McLaggen, if you can't catch Hermione's attention with what you think are smooth moves, you certainly won't catch mine. Excuse me," I said, leaving him standing there feeling like a git as I went back into the crowd. I fought my way through to the stairs and up into the girl's dormitories. I was too tired to party any longer and I wasn't going to see Draco. I didn't want to give it away that I'd been sneaking about the castle to see him, so I stayed up in the dorms and cleaned up around my bed before going to the bathroom get ready to retire for the night.

Saturday was slow and boring after the party. I'd already finished all of my homework so there wasn't much left for me to do. I stayed in with Katie, Ginny, and Alicia and we played a few games of chess in the dorms.

"I wonder what's for dinner," Ginny yawned, falling back on Katie's bed. I made a move and lost the game, Katie cheering for herself. Alicia flung an origami bird into the air and it soared atop the beds and then out of the room.

"How's it going with you and Dean?" I asked casually. Ginny's face reddened and she looked slightly angry.

"He's been an ass. We haven't spoken since Wednesday," she said, pulling her hair out of the ponytail it was in and rearranging it.

"Oh, sorry to hear that."

"Speaking of guys, who's this mystery man, Angelina? It's not like you haven't been running off in the middle of the day. Spill," Katie said, leaning towards me intently. I rolled my eyes.

"There _is_ no mystery man," I said, crossing my arms.

"Oh. It didn't work out, did it?' Katie asked, not believing me.

"Says the one who flirts with every bloke that comes her way. Saw you footing Seamus all night at the party," I retorted. Alicia laughed and Katie's face turned red.

"I was _not_," she said unconvincingly.

"Yeah, you were drinking," Ginny added with a wry grin.

"Cormac hit on you last night, I saw," Katie said, wanting to get back at me for embarrassing her. I scoffed.

"Cormac hits on _everyone_," I said carelessly.

"Not true. He's a picky bloke. But he likes _you_. Since there's no mystery man, maybe you should give him the time," Katie said.

I sighed and shook my head. We went to dinner and this time I noticed Draco sitting in his usual spot. He looked over at me a couple of times and caught my eyes, at which point he'd cock a brow as if asking me a tacit question. I already knew what he wanted to talk about, but I figured he'd pissed me off a bit, so I stopped looking over at him and continued talking to my friends. We didn't end up seeing each other again until Tuesday afternoon, the day that we were both in potions for the afternoon. I stayed after to ask Slughorn some questions and Draco was waiting behind me to talk to Slughorn, but I knew he was really just waiting for me. I couldn't help smiling at the A I'd gotten on last week's test. I walked past Draco towards the door when he approached Slughorn with his exam.

"Er, I was going to ask a question on number six, but I see it was just a misunderstanding," he said hastily to Slughorn before taking off after me out into the halls of the dungeons. There was nobody waiting around out there so I knew Draco was going to try and talk to me. I felt him grab my shoulder as I approached the staircase.

"What is your problem?" he asks, stopping me and then stepping in front of me so that we were face to face.

"Oh, _I _have a problem? No, don't think that I do," I said, trying to sound ticked off. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Look, it was a pathetic little argument. You didn't have to go and leave me all alone. I came back and you'd taken off," he said. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Sorry if I didn't count on you turning into a huge jerk just because of a little conversation. All I asked was for you to be nice. It couldn't kill you!" I said. Draco closed his eyes tightly and pinched between them with his fingers as if he had some sort of headache.

"You just don't understand, do you?" he said, "I have to keep up pretenses—and so do you, unless you want everyone to find out about us. _Then _what would we do?" he asked, throwing his arms out in frustration. I shook my head.

"I need to get some work done," I said, starting past him. He blocked my way with his tall frame.

"Will you just _stop_? Can you get over this stupid fight?"

"_You_ stop. I'm too busy for this right now," I said, stepping around him.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry," he said, grabbing my waist with both hands as I started up the stone steps. I couldn't help it and smiled triumphantly before turning around. Draco looked as though it had taken a lot of energy for him to apologize.

"There. Do you forgive me now?" he asked.

"That's all you had to say," I said.

"So, I'm sorry for running out. I wasn't too happy about it, but you were going to make me spend all of Halloween alone."

"I'm sorry," Draco said again, "Am I really forgiven?"

I nodded and he pulled me up for a kiss. I had the same feeling like I was spinning, falling over a cliff or something intense and exciting as such. I lost my breath and my stance when Draco pulled me into his grasp. He looked down at me and smiled.

"Let's not fight again. I hate it, Lina," he said, having developed a new nickname for me. I quite liked it. No one had ever called me that before. Draco pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes at ease.

"I want to show you something," he said, looking down and then pulling me towards the staircase.

"What?" I asked.

"You'll see," he said. We let go of each other's hands and I tried not to look like I was following him, staying a little ways behind. Draco led me to a corridor and then stopped and turned around. I stopped and stayed where I was. He walked a little ways towards me and then, back to where he was before, then he stepped towards me again and looked at the wall where the door to the room of requirement began to appear.

"I know what this is," I said, crossing my arms, remembering that he was part of the reason that Harry had been exposed trying to help teach DADA to students when Umbrage became the professor. He opened the door and let me in first. It was dimly lit with candles that smelled of cinnamon and I could hear some sort of harp or violin playing. The atmosphere was blatantly romantic. As I stepped further inside, I saw a large bed with a satiny ivory white spread and matching big, fluffy pillows. There was a fancy white loveseat with an ornate table in front of it, on which sat a bowl of almonds and figs, known for their aphrodisiac effects, beside two crystal glasses and a bottle of red wine. I laughed slightly but found myself smiling as red flower petals began to fall slowly from the ceiling, circling the bed. When I turned around, Draco was right behind me and pressed his lips to mine in a crashing manner, knocking my bag off my back and picking me clear off my feet so that I wrapped my legs round his waist. He ambled towards the bed and sat me there, grinning down at me without teeth as he pulled his robe off and began removing his shirt and shoes. I stared up at him hypnotically.

"You look so innocent," he said slyly, though I knew what we were going to do was _far_ from innocent. The room made me feel…there were no words to quite describe it as Draco disrobed and knelt in front of me. Without breaking eye contact, he pushed his hands under my robe and pulled my pants down until they went over my feet, taking my shoes off with them. He pushed the robe off my shoulders and pressed himself against the edge of the bed where he was between my knees, and proceeded to slide my shirt off. I was sitting there in my bra and underwear, in disbelief at the quality of the room. The softness of the bed was making me feel sleepy in a strange way, and the smell in the air ignited my senses. Draco kissed at my stomach slowly, tantalizingly and I placed my hands on his shoulders. He backed up a bit and took my right leg in his hands, and began kissing my knee lingeringly. His lips on my skin tickled and felt funny. I giggled and he glanced up at me, never taking his lips off my skin. He moaned against my shin and started at my left leg when I sighed and fell back against the unbelievably soft bed. He took his time with every part of my body, massaging my foot firmly. Normally I'd hate it for anyone to touch my feet, but Draco's touch was firm enough that it didn't tickle me. I felt his breath on my inner thigh and he inched up against the bed again between my knees. He pushed his slender fingers under my panties at the hips and slowly began to pull them down. I arched my back with anticipation as his hands smoothed up my stomach to touch my breasts and unhook my bra, leaving me naked and defenseless. Draco pulled my legs towards him, causing me to slide across the bed. I laughed again but moaned when his face was between my legs. I gasped upon feeling the heat of his tongue. I was going to sit up but he pressed a hand firmly to my abdomen, causing me to want to stay down. I wasn't sure quite what to expect, but it started to feel really good when he rolled his tongue in firm circles. I realized I didn't have to be afraid to moan out loud, as no one would hear us, so I let go of all control and made noise. I felt myself near to climax when he stopped, out of breath as he pushed me further back onto the bed, teasingly blowing against my stomach to make me shiver. He took his time and mounted me. The underside of my chin was pressed against Draco's strong shoulder as he took me over. There was pleasurable warmth inside me upon his entrance. He filled me up comfortably and I moaned when he began to rock his waist rhythmically. I was gasping and panting, moaning and pulling my hair. Everything was perfect.

"Draco," I sighed, grabbing at his lower back. He grinned and pinned my hands down with force that I found very exciting.

"Tell me you're mine," he said.

"I'm yours," I sighed in the heat of the moment. He became rough and relentless, sending my body quaking. For a second I thought I was going to wet myself, but then it was amazing and I had an orgasm. Draco moaned gutturally and gave a rough thrust where he paused. His face was ethereal and uninhibited when he came. He moaned breathily in my face and kissed my lips, continuing to move in a relaxed way until he softened. We just kissed for a while and I listened to the music that sounded so sweet.

"Angelina," Draco said, closing his eyes and smiling contentedly before lying gently on me. And then he was just heavy, although I still liked the feeling of his body pressed against mine. Something told me he was going to fall asleep, so I started to get up, or at least tried, and he sat up. We sat in the bed for a few seconds, just smiling at each other. And then Draco walked over to the table where he grabbed the bowl of almonds and figs. He brought them back to the bed and then returned to the table to open the wine and pour the glasses. I took a handful of nuts and ate them. Draco returned with the wine and handed me a glass.

"Oh, I don't drink," I said, staring into it.

"You're kidding, right?" Draco asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Blimey. You're so sheltered, prim and proper," he said somewhat jokingly before taking a sip. I watched a drop of the red liquid spill from the corner of his pale pink lips and dip into his clavicle as he reclined against the headboard of the bed. I grabbed one of the pillows and held it in my arms after placing the glass of wine on the floor. I watched Draco drink the last of his glass before setting it down and looking at me. I reached for the red drop in the dip of his clavicle. Curiosity got the best of me and I tasted this. Draco smiled lasciviously. I blushed and stared down at my feet.

"God damn, you're beautiful," he said, clutching my chin and making me look at him. There was an unbelievable look on his face as he examined me.

"Was I good?" he asked honestly. I nodded, feeling my face fire up when Draco smiled again.

"Don't know why I even asked," he said pretentiously, sitting up to his full height. He pulled me into his lap and kissed me some more for a bit.

"I'm exhausted," I said. Draco gently placed me down beside him and yawned, slipping down against a pillow and onto his stomach. I sat there and watched his eyes close. I couldn't fight the urge to touch his skin and ran my hand down his back. He grinned without opening his eyes. The contrast of my hand against his back was intense as I stared and rubbed his spine, pulling my fingers across his ribs. I spotted the faint scar on his back again and leant down to have a closer look at it. I brushed my thumb over it and Draco shifted.

"My dad," he said, answering the question I was thinking. I looked to find his eyes open.

"He did this to you?" I asked, staring at the long scar again.

"With what? What for?" I asked, disturbed at the thought. Draco's gaze shifted away from me. Suddenly I started to understand why he acted the way he did. If he was abused himself, it would only follow for him to be an abuser, treat others badly because he'd experienced it himself.

"Why?" I asked after a moment of silence. Draco sat up, taking my hand away firmly at first, but then easing up his grip and kissing it. He shook his head.

"It doesn't matter," he said quietly, brushing his hand over my hip. I got the hint that he didn't want to talk about it so I dropped the subject. We looked in each other's eyes for a while. Draco kissed me again.

"Are you okay?" he asked, though I thought I should've been the one to ask him that. I nodded slowly.

"What time is it?" I asked, feeling a pang of panic. I had no idea how long we'd been in the room of requirement. Draco stepped out of bed and pulled his watch from his pocket.

"Don't worry, it's hardly dinner yet," he said. I stepped out of bed and started to get dressed hastily.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I was supposed to finish this herbology project with Katie today. She's gonna wonder where the hell I've been—I was supposed to meet her right after potions." As I pulled my pants back on I caught Draco rolling his eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"I didn't say anything," he said, though he couldn't quite hide the disappointment in his voice as he pulled his boxers back on. I sighed and approached him, placing my hands on his chest.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go," I said, finding it incredibly difficult to pull away after I kissed him on the cheek.

"It's fine. I've got stuff to do, too," he said as I grabbed my bag. He was still watching me with disappointment and I felt horribly as I stepped towards the door. I stopped and dropped my bag, running back into his arms.

"It's getting close to midterms," I said, "And I really can't focus when we spend time together…we're going to have to lighten up a bit on the rendezvous," I said. Draco smiled, though I could feel his disappointment.

"Yeah, I know. I've got to start studying or I'll fail divination. I fucking hate that class," he said. I sighed.

"As long as I know you're mine, I'm fine, Lina," he said, giving me a full on kiss. When we pulled away, it felt wrong, but I picked up my bag again and Draco watched me leave the room of requirement.

When I found Katie in the library, she started packing up her things without a word after I apologized for being late. She had been noticing my absences lately, and I couldn't deny it any longer. I was spending so much time with Draco that I wasn't following up with plans with everyone else. It was becoming obvious that I was up to something.

"Katie!" I pleaded as she headed for the doors.

"It's fine! The project's finished, so don't worry about it!" she said impatiently, leaving me there feeling like the worst best friend ever.


	8. Chapter 8

Katie wouldn't speak to me for the rest of the night. I felt horribly as I tried to finish up some last minute homework in the common room. I sighed.

"Alright, what is it?" Ron asked. I looked up, having not even noticed that he was still sitting there.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You've been sighing like that for the past ten minutes," he said, looking up from his parchment.

"No I haven't."

"You bloody have, Angelina. I can hardly write this paper with you sighing every ten seconds," he said, probably frustrated that Hermione had decided she was too tired to help him with any more of his work. Ron dropped his quill and looked at me waiting for an answer.

"Nothing," I said tiredly, flipping the page.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, it'll sort itself out," he said.

"What will sort itself out?" I ask.

"Whatever's bothering you," he explained.

"Right, thanks," I said. I didn't sigh again, but it didn't change the fact that I was upset that Katie wasn't happy with me…

Eventually Katie forgave me. She said she wished I trusted her enough to tell her what was going on. I simply told her that it was a matter of social life and death to keep what was going on a secret. She complained and asked me why I couldn't trust my best friend. At that I told her that I just wasn't going to talk about it, that _nobody_ knew. She gave up trying to siphon information from me, though I knew she was angry about it. I tried not to let that bother me as I studied in the library. Exams were coming up in a week and I didn't want to fail just because of personal troubles. I'd _always_ been afraid of failure, though I'd never failed a subject in all my time at Hogwarts. Two weeks passed and I found myself in the middle of November. It was getting colder and colder. Draco's gazes at me in potions and at the Great Hall never ceased. Sometimes I'd smile when I was absolutely sure no one was looking, and he'd mouth things to me or blow kisses. It was so funny to see this going on and for no one else to have any idea. The first exam of the semester was transfiguration, for which I was thoroughly prepared, and among the first to finish, even before Hermione. With one load off my mind, I sighed and quietly grabbed my things and started out of Professor McGonagall's classroom. I caught a glimpse of Draco as I was walking down the aisle. He glanced up at me for a second or two as I passed along, Hermione staring back at me dumbstruck that somebody had managed to finish before her. I wanted to go to the common room to have a nap when I stopped at the portrait of the Fat Lady. She wasn't there so I sighed and leant up against the wall to wait for her to return. About three minutes passed before she made an appearance.

"Ah, Ms. Johnson," she greeted me, "How do you think you did on the first exam?"

"Aced it," I said.

"You know I must warn you, as I've been warning other Gryffindor students. A particular student whom does not belong in this common room has been stopping at my portrait from time to time. He's a tall blonde boy, cold blue eyes—very, very cold. Sometimes he stops by my portrait and just stands here with his eyes closed. It's really quite eerie," she said. All the while I fought the urge to smile.

"I think he's up to no good," said the Fat Lady pompously.

"I've seen him lurking about the corridors at night…As far as I know, he doesn't know the password, but I urge you to keep an eye out."

"Right," I said. I told her the password and the door opened. I went into the common room and found a house elf sitting there, which surprised me.

"Hello," she said, approaching me with her arms behind her back. I'd never seen a house elf in the common room so I wasn't sure if she'd been cleaning or what. She stopped right in front of me.

"Are you Ms. Angelina Johnson?" she asks, her soft voice airy-fairy as she looked up at me with her large round eyes.

"Yes. Can I help you?" I asked, leaning down so I was at her height. She pulled a large bouquet of flowers from behind her back.

"These are for you," she said. I slowly took them from her.

"I was told not to say from whom, that you would know."

I nodded and thanked her and she walked out of the portrait hole before it closed. I looked down at the bouquet of flowers I'd never seen before. They were brilliant. I smiled, walking up the stairs to the girl's dorms. When I made it to my bed, I conjured up a vase of water and put them in it, opening the window to let in the sunlight. The mid-November sky was brightly lit that day, and the magical flowers began to move towards the window, growing even more as they did so. I went into the bathroom and splashed some water on my face before changing into some PJs and getting into bed…I dreamt of the room of requirement, the last place I'd rendezvoused with Draco. The dream was so vivid that I was sure I was reliving the moment, the heat of his skin against mine and his firm grasp and lips.

"Angelina," he said.

"Angelina…Angelina," a voice said, becoming clearer each time. I woke up to find Katie standing there, saying my name. She smiled and pointed to the flowers, which had grown out of control and were reaching across my bed, as tall as the ceiling. I sat up and gasped.

"Who are these from?" she asked, picking up one of the impossibly big flowers. Hermione was stepping towards me then, followed by Ginny and Alicia, and then Romilda. I was the center of attention before I knew it.

"They're lover's blooms," said Hermione, explaining the flowers, "They're ancient flowers. They're known to be given as gifts between lovers, and grow each time the recipient thinks of her, or his, beloved," she explained. I just blinked in disbelief. My dreams must've triggered their growth. Katie frowned slightly.

"So, there _is_ a mystery man. You just won't say who," she said, twirling a stem in her hands. The other girls grinned and gave each other looks. I started to get defensive and huffed as I got out of bed, pointing my wand at the flowers to try and make them return to normal size, but the more I tried, the more they grew. I couldn't shake Draco from my thoughts. This was bad. Why would he give me flowers like that? What a bad idea!

"Just stop it, Angelina, or they'll keep at it," Hermione said, putting up a hand as I pointed my wand in vain. The flowers began to intertwine bedposts and grow along the walls.

"I'll go get the prefect," Hermione said before running out of the room.

Exams had finished by the end of the week and I was a bit more relaxed than usual. It was nice to know I'd finally have a weekend off without homework to worry about. I went to Quidditch practice Saturday morning and constantly found myself distracted, Alicia flying past me at last with an annoyed look on her face. I sighed and tried to put my focus on the practice game we were playing. I looked out into the stadiums and caught a glimpse of something blonde. I knew it was Draco. I felt my heart race, as always, and I played with vigor until we finally called it quits for the day. When I came out, onto the grounds, I was lugging my bag along when I saw Draco walking ahead of me. He glanced back at me for a moment, expressionless. I stopped myself from grinning as I caught up to him a bit.

"The room of requirement," I heard him say, and I slowed down dramatically to be sure there was enough space between us. I ran back to the common room and put my gear away. I don't think I've ever showered and changed so quickly. I hurried down to lunch. I chewed anxiously and Katie asked why I was eating so fast.

"Er…"

I couldn't formulate a good excuse.

"Oh, I see. You're going to disappear again for twelve hours, aren't you?" she asked sarcastically. I sighed.

"Don't say that," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"No, it's fine. Fine, run off to your mystery wizard. He's clearly more important than anyone else at this table." Katie didn't even spare me a glance when I glared at her and got up in a huff. I felt my eyes burning slightly. Rarely did she and I ever fight. She was my best friend. How could something like this come between us? I guess I knew how she felt, though; when I was there hanging out with everyone, I wasn't really _there_. My mind was always centered on the next time I'd see Draco. I couldn't help it! I was the host to a piece of his damned soul. I could never fight the pull for too long. When I tried, I'd find myself feeling sick and lethargic. Sneaking away wasn't something I did for fun, it was vital to my health at this point. I think it was for both of us. I'd never felt so compelled to do something, as I started up the stairs once I made it outside of the Great Hall. I reached the top of the steps when I felt the unyielding presence. I turned around slowly and saw Draco looking up at me, step by step the pull increasing, until I forced my feet to move and continue up to the moving staircases. He stayed a staircase behind me at all times, but the desperation was beginning to kill me. I thought I might die if I couldn't make contact with him in the next few seconds. Finally we made it up to the familiar wall, which I walked past desperately until the door opened and Draco was walking swiftly towards me. I ran inside and he quickly followed. Once it was hidden and we were out of sight and undetected, I rushed towards him and into his arms. I exhaled in relief when he held me tightly. Relief was an understatement as I felt every muscle in my body unwind and relax, my soul placated by making that physical contact. I didn't feel like three-quarters of a person anymore. I didn't even realize Draco carrying me until he sat on the bed. It was different this time; dark sanguine red and satiny to match the passion between us, the scent of amber in my nostrils and a fireplace that hadn't been there before.

"How was your week?" Draco asked. His voice came out rather darkly, which scared me for a second. I looked up at him and he was staring into space, seemingly oblivious to my body which he was still holding. I just stared up at him and he looked down at me slowly.

"Is something wrong with you?" I asked. Draco shook his head, snapping out of oblivion.

"No, Lina. Just exhausted from bloody finals," he said before closing his eyes and exhaling through his long nose. I felt the breath like a tidal wave and then Draco pulled me closer, leaning his face down against mine and taking an inhale.

"Lina, there's—"

Before he could finish his sentence, I kissed him. I found myself pouncing like a lioness and I tackled him to the bed, which seemed to bounce with an unreal plushness. Draco gazed up at me as I began to pull his blazer off.

"There's something," he mumbled against my lips.

"What? What?" I asked impatiently, starting at his neck. He tilted his head back further as I suckled his throat.

"Something I should tell you," he said slowly, unable to ignore me where I was unbuckling his belt.

"If it's not urgent, after," I said hastily, grabbing his pants off. He sat up on his elbows and looked down at me as I brushed my hand over him before pulling down his boxers. He bit his bottom lip and I smiled impishly. He let his head drop back and I threw off my robe and scurried out of my skirt, leaving me in my panties and long-sleeved shirt. Draco placed his hands on my hips and I teasingly rubbed myself against him, and he swallowed with difficulty growing hard. I paused and slowly unbuttoned my shirt, which Draco watched me do intently, his grip on my waist tightening in sudden impatience. I took the shirt off and then my bra. Draco sat up and pushed me against the bed and grabbed the waistband of my panties, yanking them off roughly and throwing them over his shoulder. I sat up and pushed him back, teasing. He looked at me desperately as I sat in his lap, straddling him casually but not allowing him to enter. I had my hands in his hair as I kissed his neck. He groaned, pulling me desperately towards his hardness. I resisted out of pleasure at hearing him groan like a crying dog as I teased his skin with my lips. I finally sat somewhat on his legs and gazed up into his eyes. He kissed me hungrily, messily. I felt the heat swell between my thighs.

"_Please_," Draco begged as I rubbed up against him. I helped him enter me and gasped at the sensation. Draco moaned lowly, easing himself inside me. Gasping, I grabbed his face and we stared intensely, our stomachs crushed as close as physically possible. This was always when it felt the most right, like I wasn't missing a piece of me. That physical contact reunited me with the bit of my soul that was living inside of Draco. I didn't need to ask to know he felt the same. He brushed a hand over the top of my head and down my back before giving a very rough thrust, causing me to whimper and my back to arch as I collided backwards a bit. Draco caught me before I could hit the bed, squeezing my lower back in desperation to feel me. I let my head and shoulders touch the satiny quilt.

"All I can ever think about is fucking you," he said. Draco kept a firm hold on my hips and moaned uncontrollably. I felt him lean forward until his lips were at my chin where he sucked hard for a second, wincing in pleasure as he continued to rock his hips forward. He lay atop me and it felt like we were one; one mind, one soul, and one body, working towards the same goal as we bucked our hips against each other. There was intense eye contact that we somehow managed not to break. Draco found my hands and pressed his palms against them, restraining them against the bed. I let him take complete control of my body, something I'd never allowed anyone before.

"Say my name," he said, pressing his lips against my forehead. I tried but instead I moaned.

"I want you to say my name," he breathed. I moaned it out long and breathlessly and we climaxed together…I didn't think it was possible to feel so good when we finished and Draco lay beside me exhaustedly, his body red from the rush of blood. He nearly matched the quilt. I felt so good that I couldn't move. I just lay there satisfied and relaxed. When we finally caught our breath, Draco inched closer until I felt his skin against mine. He rubbed his thumb in circles over my hip bone and blew teasingly into my ear. I giggled and curled up next to him. He pulled me into the shelter of his arms and was gazing down at me contentedly, so much life in his face from how it had been fifteen minutes earlier.

"I think I love you," he said. My heart literally stopped for a second. I didn't know what to say.

"…You look like you've just seen a ghost," he said, tracing a finger between my eyes and over the tip of my nose, dipping over my lips and stopping.

"How do you feel about me?" he asked. It was an honest question and he was just waiting for an answer.

"I…I thought it was just really great sex, but…"

He started to smile slowly.

"I've never been in love," he said. His mood was completely turned around, which I found positively curious.

"I know. That's what I thought at first, what with the soul thing, but I really feel…"

Draco was at a loss for words. I couldn't find any more myself, so I just lifted my head to kiss him.

"You were saying there was something you needed to tell me," I said. Draco's smile faded and he avoided my eyes suddenly.

"Oh, er…it's not important, forget it," he said hastily. I sat up, Draco rising slowly after me.

"What?" he asked.

"Something was wrong. I could tell," I said carefully. I didn't want to get him angry again and fight like we had at the Leaky Cauldron. Draco sighed and pushed his hands through his hair.

"I said it doesn't matter. I'm alright," he said, looking at me for a few seconds before getting out of bed to go help himself to the wine waiting on the table. I didn't want to ruin the afterglow, but I could just feel that there was something the matter with him. I watched Draco stand there nakedly drinking a glass. He then put it back on the table and filled it again, and I watched him drink it. He started to fill the glass a third time and for some reason, I didn't want him to.

"Draco," I said.

He turned around somewhat surprised, as if he'd forgotten me there.

"Oh, what am I doing?" he asked himself, filling the second glass, and with a slightly shaky hand. It had been a stressful week after all. Draco grinned upon turning around and bringing the glass to me. He handed it to me.

"I don't want it," I said, handing it back.

"Come on, baby. Relax," he said, pressing it back into my hand. I shook my head.

"Alright, then," Draco shrugged carelessly. He took the glass from me and sat there and drank it. As I watched him down it, it was undeniable that he had a problem. He wasn't telling me something. I tried not to let it bother me and made busy massaging his shoulders. Draco sighed and closed his eyes. After a few minutes he turned around to look at me.

"Why are you so quiet?" he asked, wrapping his long arms around me. I didn't say anything.

"Huh?" Draco pressed, kissing my forehead. He kissed it again and again and when he went for my lips, I turned away.

"Hey," he said in surprise. I didn't like the smell of champagne on his breath. He tried again and I turned away.

"Hey, what's your problem?" he asked, a bit put off. He pressed his forehead against mine and exhaled. All I smelled was alcohol. I couldn't help it and pulled away from him.

"What's _wrong_ with you?" Draco asked, starting to lose his patience.

"Why do you keep things from me?" I ask, pulling a pillow out and hugging it. I felt him close, could almost feel him tangibly, but he didn't touch me.

"Angelina," he said. I didn't turn around. I saw his pale white hands when he wrapped them around my stomach. I scoffed and tilted my head sideways.

"What's the big deal? What did I do?" he asked in confusion.

"I just…you didn't answer my question," I said.

"It's not important, okay?" he said.

"Let's just relax," he said, pulling me in where I felt his bare chest.

"I just wish you'd talk to me," I said.

"I _am_ talking, Lina."

"Then what is it that's bothering you? You looked upset before," I said. I waited for an answer and didn't get one. Instead I felt Draco's lips on my neck. He breathed and I kept smelling the champagne. It turned me off and I started to pull his arms from around me.

"Damn it, Lina, I already told you it's not important," Draco said loudly. I turned around.

"How do _I _know that? You forget that _I feel_ what you feel, and something is wrong with you," I said, standing up out of the bed. Draco creased his brows in frustration.

"If it's not important, why are you getting _so_ angry when all I'm doing is asking you a question?" I felt my eyes burning angrily. Draco exhaled with agitation.

"I wish you wouldn't keep ruining the best moments," he said.

"Ruin? How've I ruined anything? I can't ask you a question without you getting pissed off," I said. He knew I was right, too.

"Alright—just relax will you?" he said, standing up and throwing his arms out at a loss.

"I can't keep doing this," I said, my voice breaking and my eyes watering as I went for my clothes and started putting them back on.

"What are you talking about?" Draco asks.

"The way you…you just frustrate me!" I said, pulling my panties back on. Draco fussed back into his pants.

"You don't have to run off," he began, though he didn't say it as if he weren't angry.

"Oh wait, that's what Angelina does best," he spat. Honestly, it hurt me like I'd been shot through with an arrow. Suddenly I just felt rage. I didn't bother to retort as I started for the door.


	9. Chapter 9

***Casual reminder, I do not own the characters or plot of Draco and the cursed necklace, which belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

I walked back to the common room, my eyes nearly dripping, but I held the tears back. When I made it into the portrait hole, there was hardly anyone around, so I just let the tears fall as I rushed up to the girl's dorms. I looked in the mirror and there was a mark forming on my chest where Draco had kissed me; I could still taste him in my mouth. I could still feel his hands firm on my hips. I felt angry, but at the same time I wanted to be with him, yet I'd walked away. He couldn't just play games with me. That was the last thing I'd ever let a guy do. I took off my shoes and pants and placed my skirt and robe neatly on my nightstand before getting into bed. I thought I'd just sleep it off…

I ended up sleeping a lot longer than I'd meant to. I guessed I was utterly exhausted from the week of midterms, and fighting with Draco. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. It was only five in the morning on Sunday. I got out of bed, unable to sleep any longer. When I went into a shower stall and took the rest of my clothes off, it still felt like Draco was touching me. I swore I could feel his arms wrapped around me and for a second I swore I saw him standing behind me in the mirror where I was looking at myself naked. I stepped into the hot water and let it run me over. After I showered I brushed my teeth. After I got dressed, it was only six in the morning. No one was likely to be about, as every bed in the dormitory was still filled. I walked slowly down the steps into the common room. No one was there and the sun had barely risen. I walked out of the portrait hole. Assuming it was too early for breakfast, I decided I'd just take a nice walk around the castle. After about ten minutes of wandering, I heard voices in a hall around the corner from where I was.

"I _am_," Draco said frustrated.

"Do—not—waste—time," said a familiar voice. It sounded like Professor Snape.

"It is my responsibility to aid you. Don't mess this up," he said in his slow grave tone.

"Finish it," said Snape. I thought I heard Draco say something more, but I wasn't entirely sure.

"Get to it, then, Draco," Professor Snape finished. I heard retreating steps. And then I heard somebody walking towards me. But I knew it wasn't Draco; I could feel the pull between us dissipating. I stood right at the corner when Professor Snape rushed right into me. He backed up and stared down at me. He cocked a brow.

"Up this early, on a Sunday, no less, Ms. Johnson?" he said, eying me warily as I started to step around him. He blocked my path, his other brow slowly rising to meet the one that was already halfway up his forehead.

"Excuse me, professor," I said, trying to keep my calm. I couldn't feel Draco anymore and my shoulders depressed in irritation that Snape had stopped me.

"I could ask you why you're roaming the corridors _this_ early in the morning, or you could turn around and return to your dormitory," said professor Snape. I couldn't tell whether or not he was being sarcastic. I stood there for a moment and then decided that Gryffindor house did not need more fruitless deductions, so I started back towards the dorms. I waited in the common room at least two hours, by which time breakfast was finally being served. When I sat where I always did, Draco wasn't present at the Slytherin table. But most students weren't up this early on the weekends so the Great Hall was rather deserted. I felt a strange worry in the pit of my stomach. I shook my head and in my mind told myself to come off it; _we're fighting, anyway. Why should I care that he's not at breakfast?_

I went back to the common room, but I didn't find Ginny or Hermione, or anyone I generally hung around with. I went to the library, which wasn't so occupied either. It seemed as if all my friends had vanished off the face of the planet. I went up to the seventh floor and walked past the room of requirement. I wasn't sure why I thought I'd find anyone there. I didn't really think Draco would be there…when finally the door appeared, I entered into a blank white room. There were no windows or chairs, and as I walked further into it, it appeared to be an infinitely large space of blankness. So I stopped walking and just sat down for a while. It was eerily quiet and I wasn't sure what I was thinking. Perhaps that's why it was totally vacant. I just felt like I needed some place…

I must've sat there for at least an hour before I got up and left. I was just making it back to the common room when Alicia bumped into me in a panic.

"Angelina, where have you been?" she asked me frantically. I could tell by her face that something was horribly wrong.

"What? What's going on?" I felt myself starting to panic as she grabbed both my arms.

"It's Katie. Something's happened to her! She's in the hospital wing. Come on," Alicia said hastily. I wasted no time in following her. When we made it to Katie's bed, I barely recognized her. She looked frozen in time, no colour in her face. For a few seconds, I actually thought she was _dead_. I felt my eyes watering and then I just started crying.

"She-she nearly died. I don't understand what happened," Alicia explained.

"I don't know where she got it," Alicia said, sounding as if she were choking back tears.

"Got what? What happened?"

"There was a necklace. It was cursed. We were in Hogsmeade and when we were coming back, she touched it, and-and…"

I stared at Alicia and at Katie.

"She's fine, though," Alicia reassured me. I couldn't stand to see my best friend in such a state.

"Who did this?" I asked angrily.

"I don't know! We're trying to figure that out," Alicia said. I just felt angry. Why would someone want to kill Katie? All I knew was that when I'd found out who did it, I'd have their head!

I stayed in the hospital wing with Alicia and Katie for a while. Ron, Harry, and Hermione ended up dropping by, and we got to talking about who could've possibly done this. Katie was in no position to respond; I doubt if she even knew we were there. None of it made sense to us, but we were determined to figure it all out. I had this overwhelming sense of worry in my stomach and it just kept growing and growing. It got even worse when I was sitting at dinner in the Great Hall. About halfway through my dinner, I glanced over where Draco normally sat and saw him there. He looked even paler than usual, if that was somehow possible. He never glanced over at me. He was staring intensely into his plate and I just knew he was worried. I felt it more than I saw it. At one point, Pansy placed a hand on Draco's shoulder worriedly. He seemed oblivious to her until she started to rub his back. She leant close to him and started whispering in his ear. At that point it was like I went deaf and all I could hear was my heart beating angrily in my chest. To see that girl touch him drove me mental. Although Draco wasn't smiling or responding in a way that would've made me want to punch Pansy out, I felt the sting of jealousy, and it couldn't be quelled. Draco stood up from where he sat in a hurry and rushed out of the Great Hall. I nearly jumped out of my seat to follow him, but I knew that it would've looked odd. I'd nearly given us away. With a very drawn out sigh, I forced my behind to stay seated…

Monday morning in potions, I didn't see Draco. I felt the same worry I'd been feeling last night, although it wasn't as strong without him there. As the day progressed and I went through herbology and care of magical creatures, still not catching a glimpse of Draco, I started losing my mind. At the end of the day, I hurried back to the common room and put my books down by my bed. I wasn't that angry with him anymore; I knew that I needed to see Draco. I also knew that he needed to see _me_, yet he was off somewhere. I even thought about trying to sneak into the Slytherin common room, but I knew it was too dangerous of an idea to even attempt. I sat in the archway of a window in an empty corridor and just clutched my chest where it felt like I was bleeding to death. I started to breathe too quickly and the next thing I knew, I was sitting on the floor crying my eyes out. It was pain that I was feeling then. It hurt so much I could barely breathe. Why did it have to be happening to _me_? I wondered if the same thing was happening to Draco, but as I sat there and sobbed I didn't feel the unwieldy pull of our souls. I wanted to be in his arms, for him to kiss me and whisper sweet nothings. I wanted him to ravish me with his brutish manner…was I going _mad_? I listened to myself think and found it to be repulsively obsessive. I looked out on the sun setting and couldn't stand for the life of me. I must've gone to sleep or passed out, because when I got up, it was dark. I wondered how nobody had managed to find me lying in a corridor. As I stood, I felt weak. I needed water, sustenance. I hurried to the Great Hall, hoping I hadn't missed dinner. I was one of the last to grab something before the house elves started cleaning up. I felt much better once I'd eaten. Wearily, I went to the common room and decided I should probably do some homework before the day was over. I went up to the girl's lavatory and washed my face to wake myself up a bit. I rubbed my eyes and looked up into the mirror from having rinsed my face and caught a glimpse of Draco. It was so sudden that it scared me and I gasped, jumping around. But when I faced the wall, he wasn't actually there. I _was_ going mad. I slumped down to my knees and started crying again. _Pull it together_, I thought. I just felt horribly, like I'd never see Draco again! I had to do something. I couldn't focus until I found him. Until I had a chance to see him, there was no way I'd be able to focus on any homework. I ran back down through the common room and out of the portrait hole. I started walking around, hoping I'd feel the presence of the pull upon turning some corner. I stopped at a staircase and felt it ever so slightly. With a pang of relief, I followed it a short ways until I found myself on the seventh floor of the castle. I was standing in front of the wall where the room of requirement was and I _knew_ Draco had to be in there. I ran past it three times and the door appeared, I ripped it open and found myself in a room full of what appeared to be junk. I was gasping for air from having run about like a lunatic. I heard footsteps somewhere and knew that Draco was there.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he asked. He didn't sound too pleased as I started around a giant corner of stacked books. I saw him pointing his wand at me for a split second before he shot a flash of yellow light and I couldn't see a thing. I gasped, totally shocked. I dropped to my knees. I couldn't see a thing. I was blind! I started panicking until I felt Draco's hands on my waist and he helped me into a standing position.

"What are you doing?" I asked angrily. He'd done this to me.

"Why the _hell_ did you do that?" I growled, pushing him back when he tried to lead me back the way I'd come.

"You shouldn't be here," Draco responded just as angrily. I slammed my fists into his chest and caused him to let me go. I went for my wand in my pocket but Draco snatched it away.

"You can't be in here," he said.

"Give me my god damned wand," I said, reaching in the direction of his voice. I heard him sigh and then felt a hand at the back of my shirt where he started pulling.

"Stop!" I shouted, ripping myself away.

"Angelina!" Draco yelled impatiently. I started running, which was a stupid idea because I couldn't see anything.

"_Draco_," I said. I ran into something hard and it stopped me. I could tell that it wasn't a wall, but I fell back on the floor with a thud. I heard footsteps running towards me and then Draco picked me up and started carrying me somewhere.

"What are you keeping from me?" I asked desperately. I couldn't see what I was looking at, but I reached up and felt Draco's lips. He stopped somewhere and stood me up. I was leaning back against a wall then.

"Draco!"

"Shh!"

I could see again, as Draco pointed his wand at me. He still had mine. I felt my blood boil.

"Why the hell are you in there?"

"Be quiet or we'll get caught up here," Draco warned, placing a hand over my mouth, which felt icy cold and caused me to jump as he pressed me against the wall. I shoved his hand away.

"Why won't you tell me anything?" I asked, tears spilling out of my eyes. Draco looked down at me remorsefully.

"…Where were you yesterday?"

"Someone tried to kill Katie. I've been going mad since Sunday. I passed out in a corridor trying to find you earlier. I needed you," I said. I was still angry but I was crying so much that Draco's face became a blur.

"Didn't you feel the pain?" I asked, clutching my heart, which no longer hurt.

"…I'm sorry…I wasn't here," he said. I'd forgotten about my wand which he'd tucked away in his robes.

"I had to leave the castle for a while. I had a family emergency," he said. I knew it was a lie as I felt him cupping my cheek and leaning in really close to me then.

"Don't cry, Lina. I'm sorry," he said urgently. "I'm here now." He pressed his lips to mine and I lost balance, as usual.

"Why did you blind me when I went into the room of requirement?" I asked suspiciously once we'd broken the kiss.

"What were you doing in there?" I asked. Draco simply closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to mine. I waited for his answer but it never came. I started to get angry again.

"Are you _listening_ to me?" I asked. Draco opened his icy eyes and they were vacant, like he was trying not to feel something.

"…Don't even try to lie to me," I said, shoving him away from me. Draco looked at me with surprise and then frustration.

"I've got to go, okay? I missed an entire day of classes. Can't imagine the shit I've got to get done now," he said, starting past me. I grabbed his arm and he turned around.

"What is your _problem_? One minute you're attached to me, the next you attack," he said, squinting his eyes like he was developing a headache. I glared, and Draco glared. For a moment it felt like we were just regular old enemies and nothing more.

"What do you want from me, Angelina?" he asked firmly.

"I want you to stop hiding shit from me," I said through gritted teeth.

"You can't stand there and try to lie to me. You _know_ I'll know."

Draco sighed and stared skywards for a bit. He glanced from side to side to make sure no one was around, though no one had been five second earlier. Even so, he took a large step towards me and pressed me against the wall again, getting all close as if he were afraid somebody would hear him.

"There are some things I just can't tell you," he said, looking frustrated. He pursed his lips together very tightly for a few seconds. It was almost like something was dying to get out but he wouldn't let it.

"You know, Harry thinks you might have had something to do with Katie being cursed and nearly killed," I said, not having wanted to remember the suspects we'd thought of whilst visiting Katie in the infirmary. Draco glared down at me.

"Do you hear what you're saying? Do you hear what you're saying about me?" he asked, as if I were a dumb child who need be asked.

"How—how can you say that about me? Do I mean _nothing_ to you?" he spat. He was being so nasty then that it didn't feel like the Draco I thought I'd gotten to know.

"I'm your _boyfriend_, Angelina. Why would you fucking believe Potter? He has no right to talk about me like that. What have I ever done?"

I felt my eyes watering.

"Why are you overreacting, then? Or is it just the usual you that I can never ask a question without getting a dramatic overreaction?" I asked, sticking out my neck. I pushed past Draco and started towards the stairs. I felt him grab my arm back, and rather tightly. I looked at him and it was like I didn't even know him.

"I don't want you talking to Potter anymore," Draco growled. He looked at me as if I'd shot him in the back, as if he'd been betrayed.

"What the fuck is your problem? You don't control me. You don't own me, Draco," I said, attempting to retrieve my limb. Draco grasped it even tighter and I submitted, wincing in surprise at his sudden hostility.

"I don't want you talking to Potter at _all_," Draco shouted.

"He's a bloody liar! Why _else_ do you think he'd say _I _had something to do with it?"

I gasped again and fell to my knees; the way he was holding my arm really hurt and had taken me off guard. I was sobbing on the floor. Draco finally let go of my arm and knelt down to help me up. There was a sympathetic look on his face, but he was being a complete asshole. And all over what, me asking him a simple question? He started to apologize and I just pulled away and bolted down the stairs. I didn't stop running until Draco was out of sight and I couldn't feel the pull between us anymore. Something was horribly wrong. I didn't want to believe that he had something to do with Katie. No, no, no, it couldn't be true! But the way he'd just turned around on me had startled me. It was like he had two faces and the evil one had taken hold of him for a minute. He _couldn't_ have been behind Katie's near fatal death. I didn't want to believe it was Draco. I was in love with him…

When I was eating lunch the following day, I was sitting with Ginny and wondering where Alicia was. But then I saw her walking with Katie towards our table and I nearly choked on my sandwich. I was relieved to see that she was okay. When she and Alicia sat with us, I couldn't quit asking Katie if she was alright. She finally sighed and reassured me for the hundredth time that she was fine.

"Do you remember where you even got the necklace?" Harry asked. Katie shook her head with a distant look in her eyes.

"Do you remember who gave it to you, anything?" Harry pried.

"I really don't. It was so bizarre…" Katie looked back and forth as if she were trying to figure it out. She just couldn't.

"It _had_ to be Draco," Harry said, slamming a fist on the table. I felt a stone drop in my chest when he'd said that.

"I've been catching him around, being sort of suspicious," Harry added.

"It's _got _to be him. Only, I don't think you're the one he meant to target." I prayed that Harry was just letting his imagination run away with him, because I looked over at the Slytherin table and found Draco staring over at ours with an anxious look on his face.

"Excuse me," I said, having the feeling that I was about to be sick.

"Are you alright?" Katie asked me as I scrambled to get out of my seat. I thought I saw Draco moving to get up as I exited the Great Hall. I started towards the nearest bathroom and as I did so, felt that Draco was near. I was going to be ill. I ran through the bathroom doors as the pull grew stronger. I went into a stall and regurgitated everything I'd just eaten. There were hot tears rushing out of my eyes and my heart was pounding like a jackhammer. I went to the sink and rinsed the sick taste out of my mouth furiously. But I couldn't regain my composure and I ran back into a stall, locked it and leant back against the wall, letting the tears escape. I knew what this all meant; that Draco was evil. I felt sick and sad all at the same time. Even if it hadn't been my best friend he was trying to kill, the fact that he was trying to _kill_ at all made me feel sick. My ears were ringing and I lost my breath. I felt like I would die and then I was sure I was having a panic attack. I paused as the feeling I always felt when Draco came near me intensified. I heard footsteps and saw an expensive looking pair of loafers under the door of the stall.

"Go away," I said weakly. I could hardly understand my own voice. I watched the lock turning, and I knew it would be futile to attempt to twist it shut again.

"This is the _girl's_ toilet!" I shouted.

"Lina, I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently and the stall door opened to reveal Draco's face. I backed up into the stall, crying still.

"I-I didn't mean for Katie to get that necklace—it wasn't for her," Draco reassured. He wasn't denying it any longer. Harry was right. He already knew. I reached out and slapped Draco as hard as I could. He closed his eyes and winced silently for a second before turning back to me. I hit him again and saw the imprint of my hand stinging his cheek red before he turned back to me.

"Why would you…?" I tried to ask barely above a whisper, "even do that?" I finished, choking on my tears. Draco looked at me somewhat stoically.

"I can't do this with you! I can't be with you!" I shouted, pressing my hands back against the wall in the corner. Draco carefully took a step halfway into the stall.

"Just go away," I said. "Leave me alone."

"You know I can't do that," he said calmly. I sobbed even harder, because I knew it was true.

"I never meant to hurt her. You have to believe that," he said.

"Why are you even _doing_ this? Who are you trying to kill? Do you understand that you nearly _killed _someone, Draco?"

"Angelina, I—" Draco pursed his lips together tightly again, as if he didn't want to let something slip.

"I knew you weren't telling me something," I said.

"I told you before, there are some things I _can't_ tell you, Lina."

"What, that you're evil? That's pretty obvious now, don't you think?"

"I'm not!" Draco yelled. There was anger and desperation on his face then.

"I _wish_ I could tell you and make you understand, but it's not that simple," he said.

"Yes it _is_!"

"Lives are at stake! ..This has nothing to do with you, though. And I can't hurt you. Don't you know that, Lina? And I wouldn't! You think I _want_ to—?"

"You already did when you nearly killed my best friend!"

Tears rolled out of Draco's eyes, but he remained with a frustrated expression.

"I don't know why this had to happen to me. I can't love evil. I _won't_. Just stay away from me," I said.

"Don't say that. You don't mean that," Draco said, taking a step towards me.

"How could I have believed you? You don't know love. You're the spawn of dark magic."

"How can you even _say_ that! I love you," Draco spat. I sobbed again. My heart was split in two, half of it needing Draco, and the other half breaking over what he'd done.

"I would take an Unforgivable Curse for you—you know that, Angelina," he said, boiling with rage.

"How can you say that?" he asked again in disbelief. I decided I'd had enough. I reached for my wand, but it became clear to me that Draco still had it, as I never found it in my robes where it usually was. I charged at him but he caught me. It felt _so_ right that I couldn't pull away.

"Let me go," I begged, though I knew my heart didn't mean it.

"I hate you…I hate you," I breathed, though I felt myself calming down when Draco caressed my hair.

"No, you don't," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry," he said genuinely.

"No," I cried, not wanting to forgive him for anything. I couldn't stop crying, because I knew I wanted to be with him, no matter what he did.

"Don't _touch_ me!" I spat, trying to pull away from him. Draco held me tight. I managed to get free of his arms but he wouldn't let me walk past him out of the stall.

"You can't tell anyone," he said, the desperation in his eyes again. He looked so serious that it scared me.

"Fuck you."

"No—_listen_ to me," he said, grabbing hold of my face.

"You can't. Not a word."

"I hate you so much," I cried. Draco wrapped his arms around me again. I heard a gasp and spotted a girl to the right outside of the stall. She screamed and said she was going to get a professor. Draco turned around and pointed his wand at her so fast that the girl barely ran for the door before he yelled, "Obliviate," and she walked off oddly as if she'd forgotten where she was. Draco turned around and grabbed me again.

"Potter already knows, but you _can't_ tell anyone else about this."

I was numb then. I had no idea what to do or what to say so I just didn't say anything. Instead I looked up at Draco and he kept telling me to promise I wouldn't say anything. He got just that.


	10. Chapter 10

*This is a reply that I wanted to make to a reviewer, but I decided I wanted the response to be public, seeing as the comment came from a guest to whom I could not personally respond.

"No Not Draco:J.K. Rowling: It amuses me. It honestly amuses me. People have been waxing lyrical [in letters] about Draco Malfoy, and I think that's the only time when it stopped amusing me and started almost worrying me. I'm trying to clearly distinguish between Tom Felton, who is a good-looking young boy, and Draco, who, whatever he looks like, is not a nice man. It's a romantic, but unhealthy, and unfortunately all too common delusion of - delusion, there you go - of girls, and you [nods to Melissa] will know this, that they are going to change someone. And that persists through many women's lives, 'til their deathbed, and it is uncomfortable and unhealthy and it actually worried me a little bit, to see young girls swearing undying devotion to this really imperfect character, because there must be an element in there, that 'I'd be the one who [changes him].' I mean, I understand the psychology of it, but it is pretty unhealthy. So, a couple of times I have written back, possibly quite sharply, saying [Laughter], 'You want to rethink your priorities here.'"

I agree with what Rowling had to say. That is precisely the effect here. Don't forget that what I'm writing here is a fictional story drawn from the inspiration I received from J.K. Rowling's series, as well as from the movies. All of the stories I write here are fictional. There are elements of true events and things I've personally experienced that are not quite pleasant. There are many morbid and terrifying things that have happened in my plots and also in real life. I aim to expose those things in what I write. Writing is my art form and I merely want it to be known that I in no way wish to instill delusional ideas into anyone who reads what I write. It's also somewhat cathartic for me to write away some of the things I've dealt with personally. Ultimately the individual interprets the meaning of what she/he reads. I've seen my share of abusive relationships, and experienced their negative consequences so I definitely understand the dynamics of "I can change him," and I am not blind as to how that is mentally damaging for any young person in said situation. As for the character of Draco Malfoy himself, my interpretation of him in the end, is not that he is an honestly evil person, the way he'd been made out to be for so long. I can compare him to Snape, actually, when I really think about it. The theme of evil is really just a cover for something significantly deeper. But in what I've written here, I've purposefully omitted some details to the character to leave it to the reader to decide what he really is. For instance the hint that he may be abused himself and refuses to talk about that with Angelina. I don't believe that there is such a fine line between good and evil, which leaves room in which to argue that a character is much more complex than what the writer does not directly tell about that character. Draco is redeemable, the Malfoys themselves I could argue. In the end you can clearly see that they're just trying to survive. I think what happened was that they got mixed up and consequently entered the wrong side of things. For Draco, it was a matter of survival for him to do as he was instructed and to maintain that image of evil. I think that he is conflicted as a character because ultimately, he almost ends up doing things he really doesn't want to do, like attempting to kill Dumbledore. I know that in my other story, I did make him more malicious and deliberately evil when he commits rape. However I do notice it to be a recurrent happenstance in so many other stories I've read. Even though I've read these things, I'm not blind to the fact that it's noxious to profess such devotion and be submissive to someone who would treat you like that. Never would I want to actually make someone want to believe that these things are okay. That's not what my purpose is here. Why did I write something so horrible? I don't have a real answer for that. I will be frank and say that it was something I thought of writing Draco out as; an abusive person. I'm exploring the idea of an abusive person having been abused. That's really what I try to portray him as in what I've written. It does not justify the bad things he does to others, but it is realistic that this is sometimes the case with people in real life. Do not delude yourself to believe that you can change a man's abusive ways whether they're physical, financial, verbal, emotional, psychological, academic or whatever else there possibly is. It's never okay, but again this story I'm writing is fictional. I do insert things I've personally experienced, and that's part of what I do as a writer because I think it can actually be therapeutic, and I like for there to be an element of authenticity where things are not always positive and great all the time. The way this story is going to end will be much different than its most unnerving parts-and I'm not just saying that after having seen the review this guest left, I've thought about this theme of abuse constantly and how to explore it and how to mediate it at the conclusion. For people who tell me that they like what I'm writing, I hope it's not that they are deluded to the abuse and have a romantic response to it (although there are people who do find abusiveness and violence to incite a romantic theme and it's a completely different thing there). I hope it's that the shock value is what gets to them and evokes some sort of emotion. There are plenty of stories, real books, where horrible abuse and things like rape happen to the protagonist, but there's usually some revelation at the end, which is what makes the story good. It's that person overcoming something so horrible that makes the story good. Even Rowling herself has explained that aspect of bad things happening and then later the good, or at least it's what I've interpreted her series as, the characters overcoming such terrible things that have happened to them. The harm done against them throughout does not define what they evolve to become.

I wasn't sure how long I was staring into his eyes, but they seemed to become all I could see. It was like looking into another world; a confusing, mysterious, secretive, unyielding, traumatized world. I couldn't even speak, I was just so broken. Draco finally fell silent.

"You've had my wand all this time. Give it back," I said emptily. I never took my gaze from Draco's eyes, which never failed to stay fixed on mine. He tucked his own wand away, and I felt him pressing something into my hand and I took hold of it. Draco stared down at my wand in my hand against his chest. I could have stopped him right then and there, detained him from trying to do whatever it was he'd been trying to do. But I just couldn't even move. Draco's brow was up so high I thought it'd fall off his face. He simply stared at my wand against his chest, letting his hands fall at his sides. When he looked back into my eyes, his were glazed over and I could see this torment written all over him. It was almost like he was asking me to end it for him. He looked at me desperately and I felt my eyes tighten into something that I hoped was a glare but was really more of a puzzled curiosity. We stood there for at least a full minute, and I couldn't do anything. I didn't have it in me to be so cruel. Draco took a step back from me and then slowly turned and started out of the bathroom. What was I to do? Merlin help me.

I went to my next class but barely focused. Katie knew something was wrong with me, but I couldn't even speak. I'd had just about enough of the conflict I was suddenly dealing with. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't relax. Despite how I'd tried, I couldn't focus on any of my work by the time classes were done for the day. I needed to get out, away from the castle. I needed to rid my thoughts of Draco. It was slowly eating away at me from the inside out. I snuck out to the edge of the grounds and disapparated to the only place I could think of at the moment. I stumbled out in the evening air of Diagon Alley. It didn't even feel so much as inviting when the cold bit ruthlessly at my cheeks. And then I realized that I'd neglected to put on a proper coat or robe. I fell against a wall as I turned a corner and just sobbed there helplessly in the icy chill. I was losing it. I didn't know what to do. All I knew was I'd _have_ to find a way to get back the piece of my soul that was living inside of Draco. This had to end, and getting that piece back was the only way to make it happen. Draco and I would never really work out in the end and I knew it. All the while, I just wanted to run right back to the castle, find him and spend the rest of my life in his arms. It was a tantalizing affliction. I needed help and I didn't know where in the world to find it! I didn't care that I was out in public, if anyone saw me sobbing like a mental lunatic.

"_Angelina_?" A familiar voice said my name and I saw a pair of blue eyes, and felt a pair of large hands on my shoulders. These eyes were not Draco's; they were more of an ocean blue, and as I studied the face, I began to recognize George, his cheeks glowing red from the wind that rushed through the alley as if to sweep me off my feet.

"My god…what's wrong?" he asked. I still couldn't say a word. My voice was hoarse from crying so much. I felt George pulling me away from the wall where I was leaning. He led me a short ways somewhere until I found myself inside in the warmth of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. As George led me towards the counter, Fred came dashing from behind it, in shock to see me in the state I was. I was shivering out of control. The twins sat me down somewhere and I felt something warm around me. I recognized it to be a drapery, hastily pulled from a display case by Fred. I felt something warm in my hands and looked down into the cup of tea George had handed me. I literally wasn't aware of what was going on. All I could see were Draco's cold eyes and I couldn't stop shivering. I dropped the little cup and the water scalded me. I winced and jumped slightly.

"Merlin—sorry!" George shouted, hurrying to dab the tea off my stockinged legs.

"Bloody hell, what's wrong with her?" Fred asked George when he realized he wasn't going to get a response from me.

"I don't know," George responded fearfully, "Found her outside, leaning against a wall just round the corner. Didn't have a coat on or anything."

"Angelina?" Fred asked, kneeling in front of me. I felt a hand on each of my shoulders and finally looked down at the twins, who each had a hand on my shoulder. They glanced at each other worriedly and then at me, wondering what to do. I couldn't take it anymore, the way I felt. I fell forward and I guess blacked out. When I came to, someone was pressing a hot damp cloth to my forehead.

"Easy does it," George said carefully. He came into view and I tried to remember where I was and what was happening.

"Are you okay?" Fred asked from the doorway where he was leaning with an intense look on his face. I took in the room, a bedroom. It wasn't the Burrow, though. I knew what Fred and George's room looked like there.

"Angie, you're going to be okay. It's me, George," said George slowly, as if I couldn't understand what he was saying. I swatted the cloth away from my forehead and sat up straight.

"Easy," he said, gripping my shoulder.

"What's happened?" Fred asked desperately, stepping towards the bed where George was trying to convince me to lie down again.

"Is something wrong at Hogwarts?" George asked.

"That's it—I'm owling mum," said Fred, giving up and hurrying out of the room.

"NO!" I shouted, surprising the two of them. Fred stopped and they exchanged unsure glances again.

"Please…Angelina, you're scaring us," said George.

"What's wrong?"

I felt another wave of pain coming on and tears ran down my face.

"Somebody tried to kill Katie," I mumbled, although that wasn't the only thing I was upset about. But I wasn't going to tell them about Draco and I.

"What?" Fred asked aghast.

"Is she alright?" George asked.

"Sh-she's fine now, but she could have died…I guess I'm just in shock. I'm fine," I said, staring off into space, but it was soon replaced by Fred who sat in front of me on the bed.

"Are you _sure_?" he asked, seemingly unconvinced. I took a deep, deep breath and exhaled it slowly, wiping my eyes dry. George rubbed my back comfortingly.

"I—I should get back to Hogwarts, before somebody notices I'm missing," I said, hastily starting out of the bed.

"Let me go with you," Fred said desperately, standing up. They weren't convinced that I was okay. I stepped hastily back into my shoes and out of the room. I found myself in the main room of the twins' flat and looked around for the exit. George sped out in front of me, Fred behind me.

"You could stay here the night if you want," he said, eyes still wide with uneasiness.

"Yeah, I'll sleep on the couch and you can take my bed," Fred pressed, grabbing my hand. I glanced over at him and then at George, the two of them clearly worried. I shook my head.

"No, I'm sorry I scared you guys. I just wanted to get away from the castle. I'm going back now, really," I said. "Thank you."

They watched me as I walked to the door.

"Don't hesitate to come back," Fred said.

"If you ever need a place to crash," George finished and I stepped out of their flat and walked down the stairs to the exit and back into the street where I disapparated to the edge of the grounds. As I was making my way back to the castle, I started thinking frantically. I needed to go to the library. There had to be a way out of this mess, and I knew it would take some magic.

"Levicorpus," I whispered at my feet and found myself floating up towards the astronomy tower. I wasn't very well going to try and walk through the front door. As I floated towards the tower, I started to feel that old familiar force and I knew who I was drawing nearer and nearer to. Draco stuck his head out of the tower and glanced down at me where I was rising. I could have gone back down, but as he leant out and down as if to catch me, I couldn't stop. I made it up there and stood on my feet as soon as I was inside.

"Don't," I breathed, pulling away from him and falling against the wall. I couldn't control myself when he'd touch me; and Draco knew he couldn't either. He stared down at me and didn't say a word. His face was blank, desensitized. I couldn't think of words to say to him so I let the silence fill the air. I closed my eyes and shortly a _thud_ followed. I gasped and looked over where Draco was lying on the floor. An empty potion bottle lay beside him, and I felt this extreme panic as I crawled towards him. The sun set on the horizon as if on cue and it was suddenly dark.

"Draco…? _Draco!"_ I screamed, the tears stinging my eyes uncontrollably. I shook at his collar but he was whiter than ever and I knew what he'd done. I choked relentlessly on my tears and gave up and lay down against his chest, clutching his hand which was growing colder and colder still as the life drained out of him. As the hot tears slipped from my eyes, I started to feel like I was dying…like something was slipping away from me. I saw an amorphous almost seraphic like figure emanating from Draco's body. I sat up in disbelief, dumbstruck as it slowly began to float around me, as if drawn to my presence. I felt the pull as I had when Draco was near, but it was coming from this strange form that surrounded me. It circled me so much my head began to spin watching it. Overwhelmed with the strangest of sensations, my vision went bleary and my head light before I collapsed…

I was so cold that I could feel the frost on my skin. My eyes were opening so slowly, the lashes encrusted with the morning frost as I came to. I hadn't moved far from Draco, his hand lying frozen like snow beneath mine. It seemed like slow motion when a pair of shoes came rushing into my field of vision. I looked up weakly at Professor Snape. He pointed his wand at me and I blacked out again. I was really getting tired of this.


	11. Chapter 11

When I came to, yet _again_, in the hospital wing, it was night time and I was just beginning to sit up, my vision somewhat blurry at first. I couldn't remember what had happened or why I was there. The last thing I recalled was sitting in a bed at Fred and George's flat above the shop. I remember how cold I was, how angry. I glanced over where Draco was already awake in his bed, his arms and legs restrained so that he couldn't touch anything. I wondered if he'd been watching me or if he'd woken up at the same time as I did. I turned away from him and lay down quietly, my whole body feeling achy. I coughed and my throat hurt. I must've gotten sick from being out in the cold without a proper coat on. I heard Draco's bed creaking slightly and then it stopped. I assumed he was trying to get up, but the restraints Madam Pomfrey had put him under were inhibiting that. He didn't say a word, but I swore I felt his eyes on me like cold wind; they often had that effect. I turned around slowly and found Draco's eyes closed, tears glistening at the side of his face and dripping into his ear. He furrowed his brows and let out a low sob.

"That was really stupid of you," I said, my voice coming out a bit shaky. Draco opened his eyes as if surprised I spoke to him and looked over at me. Anger flashed across his face as he glared at me.

"This is all because of _you_," he spat, the veins in his forehead becoming prominent in his rage.

"Because of _me_? I'm not the one wandering around trying to _kill_ people—"

"You—don't—understand!" Draco shouted.

"Right, that's where you're wrong. I understand perfectly—"

"I never want to see you again when all of this is over," Draco said, turning his head to the other side where I couldn't see his face. The way he said it really wasn't too convincing, though I felt my heart shattering at the news. I hated myself for beginning to cry over that, but I couldn't help it. Weakly, coughing, I sat up and started for my clothes at the foot of the bed. Draco lifted his head and watched me as I took off the gown and started to get dressed. I started for the doors.

"Wait," he said desperately.

"_What are you playing at_?" I asked seething through gritted teeth as I turned around slowly.

Draco opened his mouth as if to speak but he didn't say anything. The tormented look was on his face again.

"You don't know…how much you've _hurt_ me," I said, starting to cry for real then. I approached him so he'd hear every single syllable.

"You've _hurt me_, don't you get that? It's not just what you say, it's what you do. You know as well as I that we're on _different sides_. Draco, there's a war coming, and people I love could _die_. You've already shown me that—"

"It's so much more complicated than you _know_," he said desperately. He tried to sit up and the charmed restraints pulled him down tighter until he relaxed.

"I want to tell you _everything_, but I can't…If it wasn't for the accident, this wouldn't even be happening, Angelina."

When he said my name I fell to my knees, unable to stand for the pain I was in.

"It doesn't matter if it's magic that's done this to us. I can't…I can't overcome it. I love you," Draco admitted.

"I can't just let you go. Don't you think I _want_ it to be that easy?" he asked.

"You really are conflicted. You were ready to kill yourself…and over what?" I asked.

"…Over you—"

"Shut up!" I screamed.

"I've never been more honest. When I drank that potion and my soul escaped me, it was like I couldn't move on. It was because of you, Lina. I know it was. It was because you kept me there—that piece of your soul that's living in me. I can't just get rid of it. It stayed."

As Draco explained, I vaguely recalled how strange it was to see his soul rising and then stalling around me. It just kept circling like it didn't know where else to go.

"We can't do this," I said.

"Why not?" Draco asked.

"Why can't we? We should just leave—the two of us. No one would ever have to know. We could run away to the other side of the world, and then we wouldn't have to feel ashamed. There'd be _no one_ to judge us," Draco rambled. I looked on him and the restraints, and felt safer that they were there, not that I really thought he was physically capable of seriously harming me, but he had gone off the deep end. I thought he was legitimately crazy. I started coughing and coughing, and then there was a bit of blood on the floor. My throat was killing me.

"Angelina?" Draco called nervously. Madam Pomfrey came out of what appeared to be nowhere, asking me what I'd been doing out of bed as she helped me back into mine and gave me something for my throat. It calmed down and put me to sleep in no time. When I woke up and the sun was shining in on me, I could smell food of some sort.

"Morning, Angie," Katie smiled, pulling a plate of pancakes off the dresser beside my bed. I glanced over at Draco where Madam Pomfrey was trying to convince him to eat something, whilst he was still restrained. He kept refusing to open his mouth until finally Madam Pomfrey gave up. I noticed Pansy sitting there, looking worried and…like a bitch. I hated seeing her there and felt my stomach churn with sickness as she pressed her hand to Draco's cheek in a comforting fashion. He simply closed his eyes and turned away from her. Katie was glaring over at them.

"I asked Madam Pomfrey if it was necessary to keep him so close to you. She wouldn't move him to another bed," Katie informed me as I finished chewing the two pancakes she'd brought me.

"D'you have any idea what I've heard?" Katie asked me, lowering her voice. I cocked my brows curiously.

"What?"

"I didn't know whether or not to believe it, but the word going round is that you went after him because you're convinced he's the one who's responsible for that cursed necklace. Tell me you at least got in a good curse or two," Katie dished.

"People are saying things, Angie…"

"Things?" I asked.

"…don't want to be seen like this! Go _away_!" Draco spat angrily at Pansy. I looked over in surprise as she looked flabbergasted. Slowly she stood up, and then looked like she was going to cry as she hurried out of the infirmary. Katie was glaring over at Draco.

"What the bloody fuck are you looking at?" he spat angrily. The way he was coming off then was a far cry from how I knew him to be when we were alone. It was disgusting to hear him talk like that. I wanted to scream.

"You're lucky I don't just pull out my wand right now and curse you into dementia," Katie shot, standing up so hard that the stool she was sitting on fell.

"Nurse," Draco called, "I'm being harassed," he told Madam Pomfrey, jerking his head in the direction of Katie.

"Listen, dear, I think it would be best if you just left for a bit," said Madam Pomfrey, drawing a curtain between mine and Draco's beds before Katie picked up her bag and told me she'd come back at the end of the day to visit me. She left and I heard Madam Pomfrey telling Draco that she'd remove the restraints when he wasn't acting so crazy. He was silent and didn't say another word as she started back to her office. I noticed that Katie had brought me my bag and the texts I needed to get some homework done. I could hardly concentrate when I'd notice Draco's shadow through the curtain between us. I opened my potions text and tried to get some work done, but several times I'd hear Draco sigh waveringly or grumble in frustration at the restraints. A nurse I hadn't noticed before came by with Madam Pomfrey, who was saying something about suicide watch as they tended to Draco behind the curtain. I ignored it as best I could, but that didn't stop me from feeling that familiar pulling sensation between us…

Just before dinner, Katie came to visit me and give me all the assignments for the day. I wanted to leave the hospital wing, but my throat was still killing me and I had a fever. I had long since given up trying to get some work done and was lying back in bed.

"Word is that he tried to kill _you_," Katie informed me, and not so quietly from where she sat by my bed.

"What was that? If you're going to talk about me when I can hear you, don't be a coward, Bell. Say it to my face," Draco spat from behind the curtain. Katie looked like she was ready to kill him herself as he goaded her.

"Come say it to my face," Draco dared Katie.

"Mr. Malfoy, that's enough," Madam Pomfrey said as she came rushing by with a tray of food for Draco. She disappeared behind the curtain and I heard him spit as she attempted to get him to eat something again.

"He's bloody _crazy_," Katie said wide eyed as she listened.

"I'm so sorry you have to stay here and listen to all of that," she said, organizing my parchment in my bag.

"Take these damn things off me and I'll feed _myself_," Draco said loudly and angrily to Madam Pomfrey. He went on and on about their foul treatment of him and everything his father would hear about.

"I'm warning you, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey said warily.

"This is insane," Draco went on, "I'll sue this school for more than it's bloody worth," he snapped.

"That is quite enough."

I was surprised at Madam Pomfrey's persistence with Draco, but she eventually gave up trying to get him to eat. The other nurse came over to help and decided that it would be alright to take off the arm restraints, just for dinner, she said. I heard unbuckling and listened as Katie's eyes went huge and she halfway drew her wand from her pocket. Moments passed and nothing happened. Madam Pomfrey bustled by back to her office and the nurse who was with Draco tended to him.

"See? I'm perfectly sane. I _demand _that you take the rest of these off me," he said much calmer. The nurse told him he was still going to be under observation, to which Draco curtly responded that he simply didn't care. The nurse said she'd check in shortly before she went off to Madam Pomfrey's quarters.

"It's okay," I told Katie sleepily, placing my hand on hers where she was still waiting to take her wand out.

"Are you sure you'll be okay if I go to dinner?" she asked me quietly. I nodded and grinned. She lingered for a bit, telling me about what we were doing for the weekend before I told her to go eat dinner before all the good food was gone. She gave me a hug and told me to get better before leaving the infirmary. I heard Draco sigh and then the curtain pulled back. He was standing there, paler than ever in his hospital gown as he looked down on me. I gasped somewhat. I hadn't realized that the nurse had completely removed all of the restraints.

"Stay away from me," I said weakly.

Draco smirked.

"You can't be serious," he said, and I felt the intensity of the force between us as he took a step. He then started towards the bathroom and I felt myself wanting him to come back.


	12. Chapter 12

The nurse came back to check on Draco and found that he wasn't in bed.

"He's in the bathroom," I said as she gasped and stared at the empty bed. She calmed down much more when he came walking back and sat down. She took her wand and told him to follow the tip of it with his eyes. I saw Draco roll them when she fished for something in her bag. She opened a pill bottle, and then closed the curtain between our beds before giving it to him.

"…Are you daft? I don't _need_ these," Draco said, and I knew he was refusing to take what I thought might have been antipsychotics or some other medication. After bickering with the nurse a bit, she said the alternative was that she'd just put the restraints back on him, and Draco finally acquiesced to the medication. The nurse stayed in the room as the sun began to set. I got up to go take a shower, which I'd felt in dire need of. I went into the bathroom and stared out at the sun on the horizon. I brushed my teeth and then took a nice long, hot shower. When I got out, the nurse was gone and the curtain between mine and Draco's beds was pulled back. He was resting with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling uninterestedly. He sat up when he saw me coming. I closed the curtain shortly.

"Don't think I'm going to speak to you," I muttered.

"You just _did_," Draco retorted. I heard him stand up and start towards the curtain. He paused and I saw his pale hand around it, ready to pull it back.

"Stop it," I snapped. Draco pulled the curtain back anyway and I pulled my towel back on.

"It's not anything I haven't seen before," he said somewhat slyly, whilst looking me from my feet up slowly.

"Stop it. Get back on your side," I said hastily.

"Merlin, Angelina, I just wanted to make sure you were _okay_. You were in the loo for ages," he said. His tone wasn't at all rude as it had been earlier. He took a step towards me and I closed my eyes, until I felt his presence right in front of me.

"Just stop," I whispered. He wanted to make contact, and I knew this as he placed a hand at my hip on top of the towel. I opened my eyes and found his chilling blues looking at me.

"What happened to, 'I never want to see you again?'" I asked him, furrowing my brows. Draco slung his arms around my waist so quickly I barely had time to react.

"I _hate_ this," he said with frustration.

"All I've tried to do is love you, and you hate me," he said.

"Why shouldn't I?"

I couldn't even think straight. I also couldn't ignore the heat of his arms around me.

"Draco, just stop it. Go to bed," I said, beginning to pry his arms from around me. His grip tightened until my forehead rested on his chest. I sighed shakily.

"You don't mean any of that," he said quietly into my ear, causing me to shiver. I felt him lifting me slightly and then his lips at my temple and I tensed up.

"I just needed to touch you," Draco said. I didn't try to pull away when he gazed down at me intently. It was crazy; the love and the hate all at once. Maybe it was nothing but passion, the pure physical. I could never truly ignore it for long as Draco kissed me hesitantly. I whimpered quietly. It was a reluctant sound, but my body was responding with anything but reluctance when I let myself lean into him.

"I'm sick. You'll catch it," I said.

"I don't care." Draco stalked backwards slowly, kissing me all the while until I felt the bed at the back of my knees and was forced to sit down. Draco knelt in front of me and gripped my hands.

"You can't keep running from this, Angelina," he said quietly.

"And neither can I. Don't you think I've tried?" he asked. And I believed he was right about the latter; he'd rather have stopped living, but even that plan failed.

I felt my eyes start to water. I had no more words. Draco rubbed his hands up my arms a ways, watching in amusement as the hairs rose at his touch. He blew gentle winds across my legs, pushing my towel up, and I got goose bumps. Finally I lolled my head back and moaned, lying down sleepily. Draco pulled me by the back of my knees and took them over his shoulders and I felt his tongue where his head was between my thighs. I arched my back pleasurably, praying Madam Pomfrey or the other nurse wouldn't come by to check on Draco again. I started to breathe much more heavily and tried to quiet myself when Draco drew his tongue in circles. He grabbed my hands and wove his fingers between mine, holding them down against the mattress. I was starting to go mad when finally Draco stopped and pulled off his gown, stepping out of his boxers and toppling onto me after hastily pulling the towel from my body. I couldn't believe how easy it was to give into him, but all my body wanted was to be pleased and my mind went out the window as Draco crawled onto me. He exhaled and groaned with relief when he entered me, his eyes closing in bliss. The way he grinned down at me when he opened them set me ablaze even more and I bucked my waist up against him eagerly. He teased and stayed still, just pecking at my chest and neck. I dragged my nails down his back eagerly and he began to move gently. I covered my mouth with the back of my hand and coughed.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked me carefully, pausing as if it were his fault that I coughed. I responded by grabbing his lower back and pulling it keenly between my legs, parting them further with anticipation. Draco continued and I ran a hand down his pale chest, the moon seeming to illuminate his pallor. He was like ivory or an opal, something magnificent as I marveled at his chest and gripped his shoulders. He kissed my hand when I pressed it to his cheek. My fever wasn't helping the heat of things but I didn't care. All I wanted was to feel good. Draco was making me feel good. I moaned carelessly and squeezed him with gratitude, my whole body writhing with pleasure…

I watched Draco with intensity where he laid on his back, catching his breath, his blonde hair utterly disheveled. I pressed my hand to his heaving chest and he looked over at me and smiled. There was something innately evil about the sharpness of his canines. I cringed slightly, but somehow it was even more arousing for him to smile at me like that. So seductive, evil could be…but deep down I wasn't entirely certain that he _was_. As far as I was concerned, there would never be an excuse for the horrid things he'd done, and I couldn't fully exonerate him of them, yet there I lay beside him, naked and sanguine with lust. I drew my finger across the underside of his chin and he turned to me and closed his eyes. He stopped breathing so heavily and turned fully on his side with his eyes closed. I moved in to get a closer look. He looked smooth like cream, his pink lips dulcet to the taste when I kissed them. Draco didn't move as I stared at him. I took his left arm and pulled it towards me, resting my face gently in the bend of his elbow before I laid the other arm across my waist, and he pulled in towards me closer. I felt his relaxed exhales across my forehead and before I knew it I was asleep.

When I woke up, Draco wasn't in my bed. Instead I heard Madam Pomfrey speaking to him quietly. The curtain was drawn. I wondered if he'd fallen asleep with me, or held me until I drifted off and went back to his own bed. I was feeling much better by the time I sat up in bed, the soreness of my throat no longer there. I wondered if it had been curative to be with Draco. I just felt so much better, like I could take on the world. I heard Draco say something about having to miss too many classes if he was to stay in the hospital wing another day. Madam Pomfrey said he was lucky not to be expelled and was on academic probation. I was still unclear as to exactly what was going on, but I went to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day after Madam Pomfrey came to tell me that my fever was gone and I could leave if I felt better. As I was turning the knob of the bathroom door, I felt Draco on the other side. He walked into me, pushing me back into the room gently before closing the door. He locked it and I looked at him curiously for a moment.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Draco sighed, "Everyone thinks you and I fought, in the astronomy tower, and knocked each other out. Or at least that's the word that's getting round. I don't know why you're getting off without so much as detention..." Draco looked like he was going to say something else but paused.

"What?" I asked. For a minute I thought about it and then remembered that it was Professor Snape who'd found us in the astronomy tower. I also remembered hearing him talking to Draco about something in the halls that early morning when I was walking about the castle.

"N-nothing," Draco said. It didn't convince me much but he took a step towards me and placed his hands on my hips. He looked down at me rather intensely.

"Okay, now you're just scaring me."

"I can't be seen with you. We can't be seen together," he said quietly, as if someone would hear us.

"I know that," I said, wondering why he was suddenly saying this again after all the effort we both put into _not_ being seen with each other.

"No—I mean it this time," Draco said.

"Okay, what's going on?" I asked.

"You have to stay away from me," Draco explained.

"You're really starting to scare me. What exactly is going on?" I asked, feeling my pulse start to race.

"I—I…I'm not sure how I'm going to…" Draco closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head.

"_What_?"

"There are just some things I need to do, and I can't have you around me, alright?" he said. I was immediately concerned.

"What are you talking about, Draco? …You're _not_ going to try and kill somebody again, are you?" I asked, feeling a bit of rage rising.

"Look, I can't explain it to you—at least not right now, but we just can't keep sneaking around so much, Angelina," Draco said, a hint of anger in his tone. I knew he didn't like me asking questions, but after what had happened, I was right to be wary of him, and he knew that. His grip on my waist tightened and I caught a flicker of worry on his face.

"I just need you to…lay low," he said.

"Why? What about the room of requirement, like before—?"

"No," Draco said without hesitation. I furrowed my brows. He was definitely keeping—better yet, hiding something from me.

"I knew it," I said to myself.

"What? You knew what?"

"You're screwing Pansy, aren't you?" I said, ripping his hands away from me. Draco looked utterly disgusted at my thoughts.

"Are you _mad_? You're kidding, right?"

"Don't even lie," I spat. "It's just like us—we pretend to hate each other around everyone else. I mean, you turn into a real cock, but at least I have enough class to just ignore you. I know what's going on; you're only _pretending_ to hate her, and I'll bet all this time, those moments when you're missing, you're _fucking_ her, aren't you?!" I felt my eyes water. Draco got in my way when I tried to leave the bathroom.

"No!" He said desperately, grabbing my shoulders.

"That's not at all what's going on. I don't believe you," he said, looking me over with disappointment.

"Why don't you believe me when I tell you I love you? Do you not believe that, Angelina?"

"Don't even try your little mind games—"

"It's _not_ a game! This is anything but a bloody game! I'm doing this so we can stay together."

"That makes _perfect_ sense," I began sarcastically, "Stay apart, so we can be together."

"Angelina, I'm _serious_. If something happened to you, I'd—"

"So you _are_ still trying to kill someone? You're dealing with _something_ that you don't want me to see, or—or know about…that's why you blinded me when I went into the room of requirement, isn't it?" I asked him. I tried to shove past him and he caught me again. He looked so guilty and he knew he couldn't deny it.

"Angelina, please," he said, his voice breaking. And it did break me because I stopped trying to shove him away. Draco held back tears when he looked down at me.

"I just need you…and I'll do whatever it takes to have that," he said quietly.

"Then stop lying to me. Please? Just _tell_ me. Whatever it is, just tell me."

Draco took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I looked at him with anticipation, waiting for the answer. He kissed me lingeringly before giving me an actual answer.

"I can't," he said.

I pried his arms from around me and started for the door. This time, he didn't stop me. I paused before closing the bathroom door.

"If you hurt anyone else, it's over between us."

I left him in there and got dressed for the day, the worst uneasiness I'd ever felt in the pit of my stomach as I walked to transfiguration.


	13. Chapter 13

It was getting late into the semester and pretty soon I'd be going home for Christmas. But the more I thought about it, the less I could really fathom being home, away from Draco. As I sat in charms, the nerves started getting to me. And then I noticed that people were staring at me. When they noticed that I saw them, they'd look away. I guessed Katie hadn't been kidding when she told me there were rumors going around about Draco and I. I just prayed that none of them were anywhere near the actual truth. I made it out of charms as soon as class was over. I managed to be the first person to get outside of the room, when I felt Draco's presence. I slowed down my pace and glanced behind me where Draco was walking. He stared down at the ground as soon as he saw me look at him. I tripped and ended up falling flat on my hands. The impact of the cold stone floor caused an unpleasant sting. I felt someone easily pull me up, as if I were a ragdoll. I found Ron standing in front of me.

"I'm sorry," he said, staring at me in disbelief. I guess I'd walked right into him.

"I—I wasn't looking," I stuttered, grabbing for my book which I'd dropped.

"It's true, innit? You got a good one in on that bugger in the astronomy tower didn't you, Angelina? Heard he nearly got you with the Cruciatus Curse," Ron added.

"What?" I asked absently, unable to ignore the pull of Draco's presence at the far end of the hall.

"Malfoy," said Ron in disbelief.

"Only everyone's been talking about it. Makes perfect sense now that he's responsible for cursing Katie with that necklace."

"Ron, you've no idea what you're talking about," I said hastily before plowing away. As the day went on I felt so much nervousness that I couldn't think straight. I went to the library and asked for access to the restricted section. I went through tons and tons of books about curses, and spirits, anything I could possibly find that had to do with the soul and body. I finally stopped on a page because there was an undeniably gaudy picture of lighting, animated so exuberantly that the flash literally blinded me, causing me to have to pause between reading sentences. The word _Intono_ was at the start of the print. It gave information about storms and elemental magic. I turned the page fervently, wondering if there was anything on soul swapping and fragmenting. Finally I stopped on an incident involving soul swapping due to lightning. There was only one documented incidence of this occurrence—although it was really more of a mythological story, in which two wizards battled at the peak of a mountain during a storm. At the exact moment that they pointed their wands to take each other's lives, something drastically different happened; their spells interwound with a random strike of lightning, during which each wizard's soul escaped through his wand and entered into the nearest living things. As I read about this, my heart began to race and I wondered if there was possibly a solution to my conundrum. I turned the page again, but there were no spells, only the little myth and some incantation about conjuring storms…I was going to have to devise a spell on my own. As badly as I wanted to, I didn't want to. But I knew I wasn't going to be able to live my life unless I got the piece of my soul back from Draco. The more I thought about it and began scribbling down whatever I could think of I began to cry. It shouldn't have been this hard! If all this meant was that a fragment of Draco's soul resided in me, and a fragment of mine in his, it shouldn't have been so hard. We couldn't possibly have been in love, not for real. It couldn't be. I had to deny it like crazy. Denying it was the only way I could manage to clearly think up any spells that might do the trick. I read the story again and again, and started to wonder whether it would require _both_ Draco and I to reverse the soul split. I tried to think about how I would explain it to him, that I might know a way to fix this. I knew deep down that I _had_ to fix this. There was a war coming, and I wasn't about to march into it on the wrong side. I couldn't betray my friends, my family, everyone else I loved…

It was like walking into some sort of frozen hell as I walked down into the dungeons for Potions. When I sat beside Katie, she kept asking if I was okay. She said I looked sleepy, so I lied and told her I'd been up most of the night writing a paper. I actually hadn't slept a wink. I'd kept jotting down words that I hoped could possibly act as a spell to retrieve the piece of my soul I needed. I didn't feel Draco's presence and I knew he wasn't there. I left as soon as class was done. I couldn't keep a straight face much longer; I was going to break down. I hurried up to the seventh floor and passed the room of requirement. I ran inside and collapsed on an empty mattress. I finally let it all out, the anger, the frustration, the sadness, the regret. It all came pouring out like a giant wave of agony and I clutched my chest where my heart beat painfully. I'd been hurt so much by this freak accident. It never should have happened. Why did it have to happen to _me_? Why _me_ and why _Draco Malfoy_, of all people? I was crying so loud and so hard that I was relieved no one could hear it. And then I heard footsteps, like someone was walking past the wall outside. I had this strange feeling and sat up straight. I stopped crying and looked around. No one was there but I couldn't shake the strange feeling I was getting. I stood up off the mattress and stepped towards the door slowly. The brick wall began to disappear and I could see the top of a platinum blonde head sticking up from the other side. I drew my wand and pointed it.

"Go away _now_ or I'll hurt you," I said through gritted teeth, drying my eyes just in time before Draco had the chance to see the tears fall.

"No." He sighed and stepped into the room of requirement. A beam of crimson shot from the tip of my wand without me even saying anything—I was just _so_ angry, and the next thing I knew, Draco was on all fours, screaming in agony. It was an earsplitting cry like something I'd never heard in my life. He fell over on his side and rolled onto his back, arching it about two feet off the floor, his body seeming to levitate where it was. Large tears escaped Draco's eyes and dripped over his forehead and onto the floor. I threw my wand away in disgust. Draco fell flat on the floor, sputtering, shuddering as if he still felt the pain but to a lesser extent. When he finally was recollected, he sat up and glared at me.

"You stupid bitch!" he barked, screaming so hard that I felt the sound on my face as he ambled towards me. His voice was so loud that it caught me by surprise and I closed my eyes. I heard a loud _thwack_ and found myself face down on the floor. I tasted the metallic iron of my blood as it dripped from my lip, and when I looked up, Draco was pointing his wand directly at me. He stood there for a few seconds, the angriest look on his face. I waited for the pain, or death, but neither came. Draco shouted with frustration and threw his wand down.

"I should kill you," I spat. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and felt it heating from the swiftness of Draco's backhand. I backed up towards the wall until I hit it. Draco stood where he was, glaring at me.

"Don't _ever_ touch me again," I said warningly before getting up weakly. I glanced over at my wand on the floor where I'd stupidly thrown it, Draco's gaze following. I couldn't have possibly made a run for it, as it was too far away from me. Draco picked it up and then pocketed his own. He took a few steps towards me.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he asked me. He came towards me with such violent speed that I held my hands over my face, waiting for another blow. Draco shoved my wand into my hand and aimed it at himself.

"Do it," he said, guiding it directly to his throat where he pressed the tip of it, staring into my eyes fearlessly.

"_Kill_ me, Angelina," he said. I wasn't sure why, but I started to cry. My grip on my wand loosened and I started to drop it. Draco made me hold on and kept it pointed at his throat.

"Do it!" he screamed. He closed his eyes and directed it to the center of his forehead. He pressed his hands on the wall behind me.

"Go on, just get it over with already. Since you hate me so fucking much, kill me," he said. I couldn't do it. Instead, I fell against Draco and pulled my arms around his neck, sobbing into his chest. A part of me just couldn't end this, no matter how horrible I knew it to be. It was the feeling I got when he was near, the way he touched me. I couldn't just let it all go.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled into his chest. "I didn't mean to. I was just _so_ angry. You make me _so_ angry," I breathed. Finally I felt Draco's arms around me.

"Why are you here? How'd you know I was in here?" I asked.

"I had a feeling," Draco began. "I felt so bad…like I could sense how you felt, and I knew you felt bad." My heart beat too quickly when I gazed up into his icy eyes. They fixed on me with a stare that made me feel like I was frozen. I couldn't break away from them. I couldn't even blink.

"And I know it's _stupid_ to keep sneaking away, but I couldn't ignore it! I felt so horrible," Draco explained. I stood on my toes and Draco kissed me as if on cue. I winced and pulled back at the throbbing in my lip. Draco ran his thumb across my bottom lip and apologized.

"You know how evil you are," I whispered. Draco's expression remained unchanged.

"You hurt me," he said, "so I hurt you." Quid pro quo.

"I hate…"

"You can say it, Angelina. Say it all you want but you know that you still love me. There's nothing either of us can do about it."

I felt the frustration again and I wanted to punch him in his perfect face.

"If you fucking love me so much, you wouldn't have just—"

"I wouldn't have gone _looking for you_," Draco snapped, cutting me off. A few frustrated tears escaped my eyes and I looked away from him. I started to pull out of his arms.

"This is so messed up," I said to myself. Draco wouldn't let me go.

"I didn't risk getting caught with you for nothing. So what the hell is wrong with you?" Draco asked. His tone was hardly consoling and rather acidic as his embrace turned into an iron grasp.

"Let me go! I don't want to do this anymore!" I said, crying in vain. Draco sighed and let go of me.

"Angelina," he said. I walked towards the bed and sat down. "I'm sorry," Draco said hastily.

"I'm going to fix this," I began. Draco was silent.

"You can't keep making me do this."

"I'm not _making_ you do anything," Draco said with frustration.

"I was doing some research, and I think I might know how we can undo what's happened with our souls."

It was dead silent for a few seconds before I could hear the sound of Draco's feet rushing over to the bed and he sat there in front of me so I had to see the bewilderment on his face.

"You can't undo it, remember?" he said. "It's not possible."

"_Anything's_ possible," I said.

For a good second, Draco looked rather hurt.

"What? Don't you want to fix this? Don't you want this _mess_ to come to an end?" I asked him. His eyes slowly flooded over and then the tears came out.

"But I love you," he said. "I don't want to _not_ feel this way anymore," he admitted, avoiding eye contact and slapping both hands to his chest where I knew he could feel his heart racing the way mine did. Still, I was fatally surprised.

"…And you think that will change if we get the parts of our souls back?" I asked cautiously. Draco closed his eyes and lips tightly.

"It's not just that…it _was_ at first…but now I _know_ how I feel…I can't let you go like none of it ever happened," he said.

"But why should we keep on like this if you think it's not just that…if you _honestly_ love me," I said with difficulty, "then switching our souls back can't change that. Why would you be against that? I thought you wanted everything to go back to the way it was—"

"I'm not going to help you fix anything!" he said. I stood up in disbelief. Draco stood up and got in my way immediately before I could leave.

"Angelina, _please_. Think about what you're doing. Think about what we've been through. Why would you want to take all of that away? …Even when we're not together, you think I don't know how you're feeling, what you're going through? I know when you can't sleep, because _I _can't sleep either. I know when you're sad because _I_ feel sad. I even know when you're hungry. I've never been this connected to anyone else as I have to _you_, and now you just want to take all of that away from me, like I don't matter? Like I don't _deserve_—"

"That's enough! Draco, you _know_," I began, my voice breaking. "You _know_ it could never really work," I whispered, barely able to admit it. Draco grabbed my waist.

"Let's leave, then, right now! Let's just get our things and disappear. No one will _ever_ have to know. I promise you, Angelina, things will change. I'll—I'll do whatever you want—just please…don't abandon me. Don't leave me like I never mattered to you at all! I know I do…somewhere deep down, I _know_ I mean something to you."

He was begging me at that point. After the way he'd just behaved, I couldn't believe how much I was thinking about reconsidering this. As I watched the tears fall unstoppably out of Draco's eyes I started to feel his pain, and it was tremendous.

"Nothing's ever mattered this much to me—no one. You have no _idea_ what I'm going through…for my family, for my life—it makes me _crazy_! You're the only constant that I have. I can't turn to anyone else! I can't talk to anyone else!" Draco screamed. He was going mad right before my eyes.

"Then why do you _lie_ to me? Why won't you tell me?" I asked, shoving him away from me with all the strength I had, which managed to bring him to his knees. He looked up at me and suddenly seemed so innocent and helpless.

"Huh?" I asked. Draco didn't answer. His lips closed tightly, as if he couldn't speak.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," I said carelessly. I began to walk around Draco and he grabbed my leg so quickly that I tripped and fell. I was really getting tired of ending up on the ground today. I could barely tell up from down and then there was a weight on my waist, keeping me down on the floor. Draco pressed my wrists against the cold floor so I couldn't move.

"Don't walk away from me," he said. "I won't let you." There was a mixture of contempt and fear on his face all at once.

"Get the hell off me. I don't love you," I said. I said it with an unwavering braveness, surprising myself. Draco paused, caught by surprise. I stared up into his eyes and didn't shed a tear. I wasn't going to allow this to continue. In rage, Draco got up and I shuffled to my feet.

"You're evil, whether you want to be or not, and I can't handle that. It doesn't matter why you're doing _whatever_ it is that you're doing, but I cannot be a part of your life so long as you use dark magic and hurt people."

"It's not that simple!"

"Then tell me!" I screamed. There was a moment of silence in which Draco paced as if he were trying to find the right words. He ruffled his hair nervously, pulling at his collar. He was a dramatic mess.

"I don't have time for this," I said, turning and starting for the door. I felt my arm being pulled back and I rolled my eyes. This time Draco shoved me on the mattress. I glared up at him in disbelief.

"Take back what you said," he growled through gritted teeth, pointing a finger at me, and he really had me scared at that point.

"I have nothing more to say to you, Malfoy," I retorted standing up. Draco grabbed my shoulders and forced me to sit back down. I screamed but knew there was no point in doing so.

"You lied when you said that you didn't love me. You're lying now—I can feel it," he said. I decided I'd had just about enough of this, so I pulled out my wand, but a second too late when Draco disarmed me and it went flying across the room to a far corner.

"You can't say that. You don't mean it," he said. Draco angrily pulled his hands through his hair. My heart beat too fast, but this time because I was actually afraid of him. I wasn't sure what he was going to do. Draco recollected himself and knelt in front of me, drawing his arms around me and pulling me towards him until my knees were resting tightly against his chest.

"Are you going to hurt me some more?" I asked honestly. Draco looked disappointed.

"Lina, I'm—I'm sorry," he said, brushing his thumb across my cheek. He touched my lip and I winced. Draco pointed his wand at it and the pain went away shortly.

"I know I'm acting kind of…"

"_Crazy_," I said, leaning away from him. Draco looked further hurt when I made this motion.

"You come around here to ask me why I'm upset, then you bloody slap the devil out of me and go mad when I offer you a solution to this—this abomination we're in—"

"It's not an abomination," he said softly. _Oh no…do not succumb. Don't you dare succumb to his touch_, I thought frantically, trying to ignore the way he was brushing my bare knee under my skirt. He rested a cold hand on it and pushed my skirt up a ways.

"Just tell me whatever it is that you want me to do, and I'll do it," Draco said desperately, sweetly, staring up at me hopefully. I shook my head.

"Take your hands off me," I said quietly. I could barely speak when he'd touch me.

"Anything but that," he whispered, placing his lips on my kneecap. It was like someone had struck a match in my nerve endings and I glanced away, closing my eyes. I should have gotten up and walked away.


	14. Chapter 14

"Baby, I'm so sorry. You have to believe that," Draco admitted, kissing my knee repetitively. His hands reached under my skirt, his nails scraping gently up my thighs.

"Stop it," I snapped. I grabbed his head in both my hands, but instead of shoving it away like I planned, I just held it there. Draco stared at me innocently.

"Tell me what you've been doing all this time," I said. "Tell me _how_ Katie got that cursed necklace—who was it really for? Tell me what you've been doing in here by yourself," I said.

"Tell me why you're doing all of this. Does it have to do with Voldemort? And don't you dare lie, or you'll never see me again. I'll never speak to you _again_," I said gravely. Draco began to spit it out and I listened intently, his face reddening and I swore I felt heat at the back of his neck.

"_Yes_, it does! It has to do with The Dark Lord. I never meant for Katie to get hurt—I'm _not _lying about that." And I knew that he wasn't.

"I'm not doing these things because I _want_ to! He'll _kill_ me if I don't—my entire family. Do you see now how it is for me? There's _nothing_ I can do about it except obey. I _can't_ tell you anything more than that without jeopardizing my safety even further. Potter already knows enough that he's onto me. Angelina, if you say anything to anyone, I promise you'll never see me again…because I'll be dead as soon as you do."

I felt the tears stream down my face.

"Don't act like you haven't known it all along," Draco added. "Everybody knows well enough the bad reputation my family's got. What it means to be a Malfoy. Don't pretend you didn't know…But now I just hope you can understand that I'm _not_ evil. I don't _want_ to do the things I do," Draco said darkly. It became clearer to me. I started to feel like this was all a charade; he had to keep a face on, keep up certain pretenses. It was all a matter of survival, and there I was, caught in the crossfire.

"If my father finds out I've even told anyone…" Draco looked away, pulling his head out of my hands and closing his eyes slowly. "What?" I asked. "He wouldn't hurt you, you're his son," I said.

"That's why I need you, Angelina. Do you get it now?" Draco asked sinisterly, turning back to me with a look that matched.

"If you just _keep quiet_ and stay with me, I know everything will fall into place in the end, whenever the end may be. If you stay out of it and let me do what I need to do, no one else will have to get hurt. Do you understand now?" Draco asked. I nodded, feeling somewhat desensitized at that point. He relaxed a bit and took a deep breath before leaning forward and resting his head on my stomach. His hands were still under my skirt at my hips, which he gripped securely.

"If you think I want to put you through all of this, you're wrong," he said.

"But you're in it now and there's nothing either of us can do to change that." I felt like I had to choose; my life or Draco. Either way, I knew something bad would happen soon. I just prayed I would be strong enough to pull through it. After a moment I pushed Draco away a bit. He looked up at me.

"I think I should go," I said, pushing his shoulders back.

"Why? Why can't we just stay here until the end of time?" Draco asked me, brushing his hands up and down my legs.

"Because," I said, grabbing his hands where they were. He only squeezed my thighs which caused me to melt a little bit more.

"If you keep touching me…" I couldn't even finish my sentence. I closed my eyes and bit my lip. Draco uninhibitedly pulled my underwear at the waist, and when I looked he was sliding them over my feet before he placed them on the floor. He pulled me closer on the bed where I was sitting.

"Don't," I said firmly, but I didn't move at all.

"Draco, no," I said, but I stayed where I was sitting, didn't even try to get up. He kissed the inside of my leg somewhat messily. I had to fight myself so much as the blood began to speed through my veins. Draco paused and pulled off his shirt, never taking his eyes off me as he went for his belt. Heat flared up in my chest. I sighed. I had to decide fast what I was going to do, but I absolutely could not move. Draco stood so that he was in front of me, letting his pants fall to the floor. I looked up at him, and couldn't say a word. He tucked my hair behind my ear and then guided me back onto the bed where he pulled my robes off. I lay down, unable to resist what I knew I really wanted. He took my bra off and lay atop me gently, planting a trail of lingering kisses down my chest and stomach.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked, pausing and looking down into my eyes. He kissed my chin and I tilted my head back and ran my hands down his torso. Draco's skin was warm and inviting. I couldn't possibly have fought this feeling.

"Fuck me," I breathed, gasping when he lifted my skirt up swiftly and dropped his weight between my legs…

I was still so heated as I lay there beside Draco. He groaned satisfactorily, his chest rising and falling where my head rested casually. He rolled over a bit, halfway on me and looked down at me intently. He brushed his thumb over my lips, admiring them.

"We should just stay here, never go back to class. We'd have everything we'd ever need, right here," he said. I couldn't lie to myself; the idea was tempting. Draco leant his head down to kiss me, and we just stayed like that for a while, kissing and not caring about the rest of the world or what was going on outside of the room of requirement. After a few minutes I stopped and stared up at Draco.

"What?" he asked, smirking and brushing his thumb over my lip.

"Are you going home for winter holiday, or staying here?" I asked innocently.

"Aw, someone's going to miss me," Draco said in a jokingly childish voice. I placed my hand on his peck and groaned. Draco's smile faded a lot, and I knew something was bothering him.

"Actually, I'd rather not leave, but…I have to," he said. He sighed in a stressed fashion and closed his eyes, placing his fingers on his forehead. For the first time I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. I rubbed his sides comfortingly and Draco's lips upturned slightly into a smile before he gazed back down at me. He traced my clavicle with his fingers and his eyes distractedly.

"I'm going to go fucking mad without you," he said, "We have to figure something out, Lina." Draco bent his head and kissed the center of my neck and it tickled so I laughed. Draco laughed down at me. It was so strange how we'd go from physically fighting to acting like the happiest pair in the world. I couldn't believe that it was only ten or fifteen minutes earlier that I'd used the Cruciatus Curse on him and he'd slapped me in the face.

"We are _really_ fucked up," I said, placing my hands on Draco's cheeks.

"I know," he said. We just looked at each other for a bit.

"But really, what are we going to do for break? I can't very well come over to your house, or you to mine."

I thought shortly about the Malfoys' snooty reputation and didn't see it mixing well with my family's more open and humble traits. Draco looked very frustrated then.

"You okay?" I asked.

"No, I'm not. I don't want to go back home. I know what it's going to be like and I don't want anything to do with it. I wish I could take you with me," he explained, rubbing his temples.

"I-it'll be okay, baby," I said, though I wasn't sure it would be.

"No. No it won't," Draco said. I started to get up and Draco looked a bit taken by surprise. I reached for my bra halfway across the bed and threw my legs over the side as I started to put it on. I was getting ready to sit up and grab my underwear off the floor when I felt Draco's hands on my hips. They were nervous and cold. It seemed that he was constantly changing temperatures every time he'd touch me.

"D'you have to go just yet?" he asked so gently that it almost didn't sound like him.

"…I just don't know what to say to you," I started. "I can't keep avoiding all of my friends like I have been. Holiday is the time of the year when I spend the most time with them. How am I going to juggle that with you, and what exactly are we supposed to do? Sneak away to the Leaky Cauldron every night?"

I heard Draco sigh and he let go of me. I turned around to find him staring intensely ahead into space.

"Draco?" I asked.

"I'm just feeling really alone, Angelina. I was hoping you'd want to spend more time with me on holiday. I know—I know, I said we should stop seeing each other so much, but moments like the one we just had, they make me feel better. I need that. I'm going to need that now more than ever," Draco admitted, shifting his gaze to meet mine. I knew it had something to do with what he was doing and not telling me about in full detail. I didn't bother to ask further questions. I wanted us to part on a sweeter note for once. I just didn't need it to weigh on me much more than it already was. Draco pulled my arm and held me back in his embrace.

"I need to know the best way to reach you without it being noticeable," Draco explained. I was silent for a moment as I thought.

"Lina?" Draco asked.

"I'm thinking," I said, closing my eyes and enjoying the warmth of his chest.

"If you can keep a place reserved somewhere, maybe a bed and breakfast, we can go in turns," I said, thinking on a whim.

"What about Christmas Eve? I could try and get a nicer place than the Leaky Cauldron. But I bet it's too late to make reservations," Draco said a bit discontentedly. I pulled away a bit to look up at him. As he gazed down into my eyes, I forgot what I'd thought to say. I just grinned.

"We'll figure it out."

"We'd better, or I won't make it to the New Year," Draco said. He sounded as if he weren't joking, which honestly scared me somewhat. His eyes suddenly widened and his jaw dropped a little.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked in a bit of a panic at his sudden change of expression.

"Nothing. I was supposed to meet Professor Snape ten minutes ago," Draco informed me, his embrace loosening. I stood and started putting on my clothes. Draco got up shortly after me and followed suit. He kept looking at me, as if to say, "Aren't you going to ask me why?" but I never did. I didn't want to think about him negatively. I was trying so hard to shake those thoughts away. A part of me really wanted us to work out. It really did. Draco finished buttoning up his shirt and fumbled with his tie, cursing. I helped him put it back on. After I'd fixed it straight, he grabbed me and crashed his lips against mine for a few seconds, and as always I lost my breath. I couldn't move. It was almost as if I'd been put under some sort of spell. Draco sighed.

"If we don't see each other next week, leave me a note in the owlery," Draco began carefully and I listened intently, staring at his lips saying every syllable. "There's only _one_ Eagle Owl; it has orange eyes and nests in a top cubbyhole. I'll think of something and try to leave you a note before the end of next week." I couldn't believe we were already nearing the end of the semester. By far it had been my most interesting year at Hogwarts.


	15. Chapter 15

I did as Draco said and checked the owlery the Monday of the following week. As I walked in, I was hopeful we'd run into each other so that we could steal moments to kiss before returning to class or whatever else it was going on that day. I stared up into the high reaches of the cubbyholes where the owls nested. It was cold and I shivered, pulling my arms around myself for a moment. I couldn't quite see the top row of cubbyholes, but I desperately needed to know whether Draco had left me anything. I pointed my wand at myself swiftly.

"Levicorpus."

I floated towards the ceiling slowly. As I went up I stared at every owl's eyes. I had yet to see the orange-eyed Eagle Owl.

"Johnson!" a somewhat unfamiliar voice yelled. I was caught off guard and gasped, dropping my wand. I screamed when I started falling. I closed my eyes, preparing for impact, but I never hit the floor. Someone had caught me. I opened my eyes and found myself in Cormac McLaggen's arms. I held my hand over my pounding heart and closed my eyes again. I was sure I'd have died. I shook my head, clearing it and calming down.

"My, what a lovely view," said Cormac giggling slyly. I opened my eyes and raised a brow warily at him.

"You almost killed me," I said calmly, wondering why he hadn't yet put me down.

"Actually, I saved your _life_. What the devil were you doing up there?" he was grinning at me slyly when I really looked him in the face. I blushed, and hated myself for it. I couldn't've kid myself; he was a good looking bloke.

"You can put me down now," I said, blinking much more than I'd meant to. Cormac laughed.

"Wouldn't you say I've knocked you off your feet?" he asked jokingly. I laughed without humour.

"Great, but—"

"If I ask you to go out with me, and you say yes, then maybe I'll put you down," he said. This guy never took no for an answer!

"I really can't do that," I said simply. I started to move to get out of his arms but he gripped my legs and laughed.

"Are you daft?" I asked, working up my defensive side as best I could, "Let me down, Cormac."

"I thought we had a deal; you'd say you'll go out with me and then I let you down." I glared and grabbed at his hands, prying the fingers back until he finally let go. I didn't say another word but bent down to pick up my wand.

"Really? You're going to blow me off again? Come on, I was just joking around," he said honestly. I rearranged my skirt and rolled my eyes, walking out of the owlery. I hadn't gotten a chance to even check and see if Draco had left me a note or not. I started to feel so damn anxious, it was driving me mad. All I wanted was to lie with him again, to stare into those freezing eyes and still be on fire. It wasn't going to be an easy week.

I focused as best I could in herbology, pairing up with Neville for the pop quiz Professor Sprout decided to spring on us. We were allowed a partner, seeing as many students were apparently failing the class and the pop quizzes were meant to bring up grades.

"It's simple, really, Angelina," Neville began, unearthing a strange fruiting shrub I couldn't recall the name of and cutting off a root before writing down exactly what it was, taxonomic name and all. I was half listening as Neville explained the ovate shape of the leaves and wondering where Draco was sitting. I could feel the familiar pull of his presence but he wasn't within my line of vision from where I was sitting up front.

"Thanks, Neville," I said, scribbling down a name on my quiz before we passed ours to the end of the table where Professor Sprout was picking them up.

At dinner I ate absently. I wasn't even aware that Cormac had been sitting beside me until he nudged me in the arm. He was looking at me, surprised I hadn't noticed him. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I glanced at Katie across from me and she gave me this oddly mischievous smile. Cormac blushed when I put my fork down and stared at him.

"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier, Angie," he said.

"I didn't mean to scare you at the owlery. I was just trying to mail a letter when I saw you floating up there." Although he was speaking to me politely, his eyes kept flitting from my head to my backside and I suddenly felt like I was being seen naked. I leant away from him the tiniest undetectable bit.

"I-it's okay," I said, reaching for my glass of water and spilling a bit down my chin. Cormac laughed in his sly manner and I felt somewhat embarrassed.

"I guess what I meant to say is I'm sorry for catching you. You really seemed put off by it?"

"Oh…no, not really."

"Come to think of it, you _are_ lucky it was me who caught you instead of some weak skinny bloke. Could've hit your head and died," he said, grinning and making sure to catch my eyes. I nodded and smiled in what I hoped Cormac would register as a friendly way only. I glanced across from me and saw Draco sitting at the Slytherin table. He was sitting up straight as if someone was pulling him up by a thread. I detected the disturbed look on his face and glanced away when I saw him glare over at McLaggen. Cormac looked over and caught Draco's stare, glaring back.

"You know, when the season starts up again, you'd better make a point to send bludger his way," Cormac said calmly, glaring over at Draco all the while. I looked away and started to fill my mouth with broccoli in order to avoid the tension that was forming.

"He's a nutcase. Look at him," Cormac said, nudging me again. I almost choked as I looked up again and saw Draco glowering over at Cormac. I knew exactly what he was thinking, too. It was frustrating to sit there and feel like I wanted to scream. Draco _had_ to know that there was nothing more going on between Cormac and I than a friendly conversation, but it didn't stop me feeling his jealousy from across the Great Hall. I saw Blaise Zabini tap Draco on the shoulder, diverting his attention away from Cormac, who smiled to himself for having seemingly won the death stare match. For someone who was crap at Quidditch, Cormac had an ego.

"So, if you're not still put off about earlier, I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me. You know, over the holiday, seeing as it's the last week of the semester and all."

I wondered why Cormac had suddenly taken such an interest in me. I looked over at Draco and Blaise for a few seconds. Draco looked fed up with something he was saying, growing red in the face.

"Angelina?" Cormac asked.

"I dunno, Cormac. My schedule's pretty full."

"Schedule?" he laughed. "You have a _schedule_ during the holidays?"

I turned to him fully to make sure he wouldn't have noticed me staring at Draco.

"I-I just mean, I have plans."

"So do I. Want to have plans with me, too?" He was _very _persistent.

"Listen, Cormac. You're really cute and all, but…" I couldn't finish my sentence before I started to get up. Katie gawked at me as I started out of the Great Hall. Something told me she'd had something to do with Cormac trying to ask me out. Perhaps she stopped believing that I had what she called a "mystery man" and was trying to set me up. Sometimes that girl got on my nerves. She could never keep out of my business for long. But then, I'd been able to keep Draco a secret from her…

I went to the owlery Tuesday evening and this time made it to the cubbyhole with the Eagle Owl. It looked at me knowingly but I found no note there, so I floated back down to the floor carefully and started towards the door, when I found Cormac there with a large envelope. He stayed where he was in the doorway, occluding my exit.

"What were you doing?" he asked me out right. It occurred to me that he must've seen me float myself to the top and check in the owl's cubby.

"Mailing a letter. This is the owlery, is it not?" I asked sarcastically.

"Really? But that owl hasn't flown away with anything," Cormac said raising a brow curiously. I sighed.

"Excuse me," I said. Cormac didn't move. I looked up at him in disbelief.

"Will you be mailing that?" I asked, pointing to his envelope.

"_Yes_," he said.

"Then excuse me," I added.

"Why won't you go out with me?" he blurted.

"You said I was cute," he added. I closed my eyes for a few moments and tried not to smile.

"Did Katie set you up to this?" I asked.

"Katie? No," he said somewhat unconvincingly.

"Well, she _is_ your best friend. Who else was I supposed to talk to about how to ask you out?" he said honestly. I looked up and found him blushing. He was at least a head taller than me, and damn good looking. But Draco crossed my mind and I looked away from him.

"Cormac," I said, unsure of what else to say.

"I've got to go," I said, brushing past him. I went quickly back to the common room and into the girl's dorms so I wouldn't run into Cormac again. I thought he'd been interested in Hermione so I was somewhat confused. I had to get some serious homework done so I put Cormac out of my thoughts and focused on my studying…

Wednesday came and I was eating lunch with Katie, Alicia, Ginny, and Hermione. I asked Katie what exactly she'd said to Cormac about asking me out and she shrugged, Hermione looking somewhat bewildered.

"He acts like a stud, but he's really quite shy. He was afraid you'd say no—and I _cannot_ believe you did because I would've jumped on it a long time ago," Katie exclaimed.

"Well, at least he's quit giving me inappropriate looks," Hermione said somewhat nonchalantly.

"_Inappropriate_?" Ginny asked, "You're kidding, right? He's hot."

Ron looked over at us and wouldn't stop staring at Hermione who was too busy eating her sandwich to notice him. I felt the urge to laugh, quite honestly. And then I saw Draco. He caught my gaze and then stood up and left the Great Hall. I stayed put, catching a glimpse of a folded piece of parchment in his hand as he walked away. My heart jumped and I already knew he was going to the owlery. I stayed on in the conversation and finished eating. It was during Charms that I raised my hand and asked to use the bathroom. I made my way out of the classroom and then headed for the owlery. I knew Draco would be in divination so he'd probably already left the note for me before classes resumed. My heart was pumping as I hurried to the owlery. I paused abruptly in the doorway when I saw someone floating at the high tops of the cubbyholes. I took a silent step into the room and realized it to be Cormac floating there. He was holding a piece of parchment in his hands, floating back to the floor as he read it. I was terrified when he turned around and finally noticed me with some surprise.

"What are you doing?" I asked somewhat angrily.

"So there's someone else. _That's_ why you don't want to go out with me," he said, grinning triumphantly.

"That's not for you," I snapped, eying the note. I went for it and Cormac held it above his head out of reach. I took out my wand and pointed it at him.

"Give that to me now," I said slowly.

"Lina, is it? He must really like you," Cormac said and I froze on the spot. It was definitely Draco's note he was holding.

"What's his name? He didn't sign it," Cormac added.

"Stop it," I said.

"I figure since I know now why you keep shooting me down, I have the right to know who your heart belongs to," Cormac stated. He really wasn't giving up. I heard footsteps and Draco stood in the doorway of the owlery. He saw McLaggen there and looked surprised. Cormac whipped around and looked over at Draco. I felt so much panic as I stared at Draco and then at Cormac, whose face gradually dropped as he put two and two together. He stared at the note for a second and then at Draco.

"What's he doing here?" Draco asked. "Why's _he_ here with you?" Draco asked, his voice rising.

"Fuck me," Cormac stated, the colour draining from his face. "This is your note, isn't it?" he asked Draco. I had completely forgotten how to move as I stood there terrified by Cormac's discovery.

"Are you _dating_?" Cormac asked, this utter disgust in his voice.

"Why is he here?" Draco asked me, pointing at Cormac.

"Bloody _hell_!" Cormac exclaimed, staring at me and then at Draco. The next thing I knew, Draco was pointing his wand at Cormac.

"Draco, don't!" I yelled. Cormac dropped the note and backed up against a wall as Draco stalked towards him. I couldn't believe my eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

"Are you trying to fuck my girlfriend?" Draco growled. Cormac's eyes had gotten huge by that point. He stared at me with brows raised in disbelief.

"Angelina…you can't be _serious_! _This_ dunderhead?" Cormac asked, trying his best to ignore Draco who still had his wand pointed at Cormac's throat.

"Draco stop," I said impatiently. Draco glared over at me. Cormac stole the moment to push Draco to the floor. He was about to take out his own wand when Draco flicked a spell at Cormac and he fell to the floor like a stiff board, stunned. Draco stood up and grabbed Cormac by the shoulder, turning him around so he was facing the ceiling. Draco picked up the note Cormac had dropped and turned to me.

"What was he doing in here? How'd he get this?" Draco asked me angrily.

"I _don't know_! He was here when I came to check the other day, and I found him in here again just now," I explained, trying to remain calm. Though he was stunned, Cormac's eyes flitted back and forth in panic. Draco turned around.

"I saw the way you looked at her," he spat, and kicked Cormac in the side rather hard causing him to completely roll over once. I gasped.

"_Draco_!" I screamed. He turned around and deflected the spell I shot to try and stop him. He kicked Cormac again, cursing at him venomously. The stun began to wear off a little bit and Cormac attempted to lift his arms. Draco pointed his wand down at Cormac, this ferocity that I'd never seen before all over his face.

"Strangulo," he said, and a ray of blue shot out of Draco's wand and Cormac's tie tightened until it began choking him. I could hear him gasping for breath as he clutched his neck, eyes wide all the while.

"Stop!" I screamed, running up to Draco who merely pushed me so hard that I hit the stone floor. I grabbed my wand and pointed it at Cormac.

"Finite," I said and Cormac regained full movement. He snatched his wand out of his robes and hit Draco with a spell that sent him flying back against the cubbyholes, disturbing the owls who began to hoot in disturbance, some of them flying away. Cormac was heading for the door when Draco shot up.

"Expelliarmus!" Draco shouted and caught Cormac's wand. Cormac turned around in shock and Draco shot him again with the choking charm. Cormac dropped to his knees, clutching his throat once more.

"Draco!" I screamed, getting up painfully and stalking towards him. He turned around for about a quarter of a second and disarmed me before returning his focus to Cormac, who was growing red in the face.

"You're going to _kill _him!" I screamed. Cormac fell over, seconds away from complete asphyxiation. Unable to waste time searching for my wand amongst the straw on the floor, I went on instinct and grabbed Draco's hand. He pushed me and I fell down again on the hard stone floor. Cormac was turning purple. I screamed at Draco, until finally he stopped and Cormac lay on his back gasping for breath. Draco stunned him again and he lay still on the floor, looking nearly lifeless. I was horrified when Draco turned around to face me where I'd sat up. He took a violent step towards me and I backed up in all the straw and feathers.

"What the _hell_ was he doing here?" Draco screamed at me again.

"You could have killed him!" I said, standing and brushing myself off.

"Draco, what the fuck is wrong with you?" I asked, feeling as though he were a complete stranger when I looked at him. I'd seen him angry before but I was almost certain he'd have killed Cormac if I hadn't been there.

"How did he find out about this?" Draco asked, brandishing the note at me with a glare.

"Why did you come _here_?" I asked him, wondering why he hadn't just stayed in class and let me collect the note myself.

"Because _I wanted to see you_, that's why" he said.

"Now look what you've made me do," he spat, turning back to Cormac, who was still stunned but conscious on the floor.

"…I didn't _make_ you do anything! You tried to kill him," I said. Draco pointed his wand at Cormac again and I rushed around in front of him.

"Stop," I said, pushing Draco with all my strength. He appeared flabbergasted that I'd intercepted him and stared at me a moment.

"We can't just let him go so he can tell _everyone_ about us," Draco scowled.

"So wipe his memory! What were you going to do?" I asked him.

"…" Draco didn't answer, but glared down at Cormac.

"_What were you going to do_?" I asked him again. He looked down at me.

"Why were you even _talking_ to him?" he asked me. I was stunned.

"Don't lie—I saw you talking to him," Draco added, gaining on me a bit. I looked up at him in disbelief.

"First of all, I haven't told a single lie, and second, are you crazy? I can't even talk to anyone without you going insane?"

Draco stepped around me and pointed his wand at Cormac.

"What are you doing?" I asked warily.

"Confundus," he said simply. He undid the stun and Cormac stood up, looking as confused as ever. He stood there facing Draco in a daze.

"You were never here, and you never read this note, or saw Angelina in here. You never saw me, either. You're going back to class now," he said, handing Cormac's wand back to him.

Slowly, Cormac turned around and walked out of the owlery. I took a sigh of relief. Draco turned back to me. I backed away from him towards the wall and he frowned. He took a few cautious steps towards me.

"I-I'm sorry," he said. I shook my head.

"I saw the way he was looking at you and it made me so…" Draco's face hardened.

"So you were going to _kill_ him?"

"No! Remember when you were jealous of Pansy and I?" Draco asked me. I couldn't believe he was trying to turn this situation around.

"Remember how angry it made you?"

"So that's an excuse to choke a person to death?" I asked rhetorically.

"Relax—he's fine! He's alive, isn't he?"

I shook my head.

"I'm sorry!" Draco repeated, throwing his arms out at the sides.

"You don't sound like it."

"What else do you want me to say? …It made me so angry to see him look at you like he was—"

"You almost killed him!" I yelled. Draco glanced away stubbornly.

"I wasn't going to _kill_ him," he said with frustration through gritted teeth. But I think he knew as well as I that he nearly had.

"You're crazy," I said quietly. Draco glared up at me and took a few more steps.

"Don't call me that," he warned.

I spotted my wand sitting in the corner in the hay and rushed to pick it up. I didn't point it at Draco, but he took note that I was holding it and lowered his.

"I'm _sorry_," he said again, closing the gap between us.

"He's fine, yeah? Just relax."

He attempted to wrap an arm around me and I immediately pulled away.

"Don't tell me to _relax_! You tortured him."

Draco sighed as I started to walk around him.

"Lina—"

"No!" I said.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked.

"Just stay away from me," I said, holding back the tears as I rushed out of the owlery and back to Charms. It occurred to me that I'd never even retrieved Draco's note…

Thursday morning came and I was sitting in potions, talking to Katie about what we would do over the holidays. Ginny was inviting us to the little Christmas Eve party she was planning to throw at the Burrow and I tried to ignore the magnetic sensation I felt when Draco breezed past me, causing the hairs at the back of my neck to rise. I glanced over where I saw Cormac sitting with a girl from Hufflepuff who was blushing at whatever he was saying, probably smooth talking her. It was clear that Cormac had no recollection of Draco choking him the previous day, and even whilst I was relieved, I felt my blood boiling with rage for Draco as he sat with Blaise at the front of the room, and even more when he had the nerve to glance back at me for a solid three seconds.


	17. Chapter 17

*Quick thank you to everyone who's been telling me how much they loving my stories/giving feedback. I don't like to ignore reviews. It's very much appreciated. I wasn't sure if I'd get internet access where I am currently on vacation, but I do! So as you can see I've been writing my bum off. I was just blogging and happening upon things when I suddenly thought of an artist I haven't listened to in some time. So I'd like to dedicate a song to this chapter, as I feel it's sort of appropriate to where this is going, and maybe you'd like to listen to it as you read: "Another Love" – Grieves. _Why are you in love with me if you can barely stomach it…?_

It was dinner time when I found myself laughing at a joke Ginny told me where I sat sandwiched between her and Katie. I couldn't remember the last time I'd honestly felt good and laughed since all the drama with Draco. It was strange, as all the while, I could feel the pull of his presence from where he sat over at Slytherin's table. I never once glanced over at him, though, but I bet he'd stolen a bunch of glances my way. I couldn't wait for the party at the Weasley's, and Christmas, and to getting my nails done with Alicia and Katie. It was going to be an exciting break. Even Harry appeared to be in good spirits, cheering everyone with his mug of hot cocoa. I was excited that classes would be ending early tomorrow so that everyone could leave to go home. I was drinking much more juice and water than I was eating, and about halfway into dinner I had to pee terribly. I excused myself and went off to the lavatory. I couldn't take the smile off my face. It felt good. I went into the bathroom to pee, nearly tripping into a stall. I laughed and relieved myself. I lightly stood on the handle to flush the toilet before I came out to wash my hands at the sink, Romilda Vane and Lavender Brown both fixing their hair at the mirrors, gossiping about guys, and I swear I heard Cormac's name come out of one of their mouths. I rolled my eyes at the thought of him and washed my hands. They left before I was finished and I shook my hands dry before checking myself in the mirror. My hair looked shiny as I fixed it up into a bun. I smiled to be sure there was nothing stuck between my teeth. I saw a glimpse of Draco in the mirror and gasped, turning around. He wasn't there, but it was so real that I was sure I'd seen him. I wasn't at ease any longer as I glanced around nervously, trying to calm down. I closed my eyes, but then I started to feel the weight of his presence. He wasn't far. The bathroom door opened slowly and I stared at it, my heart beating rapidly. Draco stepped inside, not caring that he was, for the second time, entering the girl's bathroom.

"Obfirmo," he said and the door fastened shut.

"Are you _crazy_?" I asked him. Draco turned to me and clenched his brows together.

"Aren't you getting tired of asking me that?" he responded, and I wasn't sure whether he was joking or not.

"Suppose I weren't the only one in here. How would you have explained yourself?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"I checked first," Draco said nonchalantly, shrugging, and then I recalled the quick glimpse I'd caught of him in the mirror a moment earlier. He took a few steps towards me.

"Don't come any closer," I said, wishing I couldn't feel myself leaning forward as if I were drawn to him like a forced magnet.

"But you want me to," he said.

"No, I don't," I shot back.

Draco sighed and put his wand away inside his robes, then lifted his hands to me as if surrendering.

"I told you to stay away from me," I said, looking over at the locked door.

"Will you just talk to me?" he asked. I didn't respond.

"_Come on_, Angelina. Why are we _always_ getting into fights?" Draco asks. Instead of answering him I went for the door and started into my pocket for my wand. I felt a hand firmly on the inside of my elbow.

"_Please_," Draco begged.

"I swear to Merlin, you looked _so_ evil. You would have killed him if it wasn't for me being there."

"You know that's not true," Draco said defensively.

"I lost control—I'll admit it, but I'm not a _complete_ monster."

"Really? Could've fooled me," I said, pulling my arm away from Draco, but he held on. I used my free hand to try and pry him off.

"I can't do this anymore!" I screamed.

"You keep saying that, but you _will_," he said. I shook my head.

"How many times do I have to apologize, Angelina?"

"It means nothing to me. You could say it for the rest of your life; it doesn't change what you've done, it doesn't change what you _do_. I don't know why it still surprises me when I see you turn like that."

Draco frowned.

"I wasn't going to kill Cormac. I just meant to hurt him—that's all!"

"How is that any better, Draco? The fact that you even _know_ spells to hurt people like that scares me…The simple fact that you _wanted_ to hurt him, and out of jealousy when there was _nothing_ going on between Cormac and me…" I said honestly, pausing in trying to retrieve my arms from Draco. He looked ashamed for the quickest second before his expression changed.

"Why? You know spells like that too, don't you? It's just self defense."

"That _wasn't_ self defense, Draco."

"It wasn't self defense when you used the Cruciatus Curse on me last week now was it, Angelina?" Draco retorted. That had honestly hit me below the belt. It was like a slap in the face and I felt like a complete hypocrite.

"Yeah, I guess we're even," he said, raising his eyebrows triumphantly.

"I don't want to talk to you," I said, having nothing more to say, finally breaking out of his hold. He sighed with frustration as I pointed my wand at the lock. The door fell ajar.

"I guess I won't be seeing you over the holiday," Draco said, staring down at the floor yet standing there to his full height, surprisingly not sounding as dejected as I knew he felt.

"Merry Christmas," he said. I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes for a moment before exhaling as I left the bathroom to return to my friends, the feeling of desperation to be near that piece of my soul slowly fading with every step I took…

I woke up in Katie's bedroom because she was pushing me out of the bed, talking about picking up the right Christmas tree before they were all gone. I got up lazily and nearly tripped over my trunk. I had decided to stay over her house a few days instead of going home to be alone with my parents. I just didn't want to be alone. I tried to convince myself that I'd thoroughly broken up with Draco, but I knew deep down that I hadn't seen the last of him. I wasn't sure what to do as I hurried into the shower, the smell of pancakes wafting upstairs from the kitchen below where Katie's mum was making breakfast. When I was sitting down in the kitchen eating with her, she told me she and Seamus had recently started going out. I was somewhat surprised and wondered why I hadn't noticed before. It then occurred to me how little I'd been paying attention to the majority of my social life. I shook Draco out of my head again.

"We'll meet up with Alicia and Ginny at the Three Broomsticks before we head out to the tree lot," Katie said, fastening her coat on by the door. I shoved my hands deep into my pockets and waited to brace the cold. We stepped outside and Katie grabbed my arm, closing the front door before disapparating to Hogsmeade. When we got there, it was snowing. It looked pretty but I couldn't feel my face as we hurried along to the Three Broomsticks. As I was pushing the door open, I nearly took off Cormac McLaggen's nose.

"Whoa, where _is_ the fire?" he asked jokingly, standing there startled for a few seconds, a girl I hadn't seen before clutching his arm.

"Well, don't just stand there, we're freezing our arses off," Katie said impatiently, pressing past Cormac who laughed and pulled a pair of earmuffs on before exiting the pub.

"Every time I see him he's with a different girl. Maybe you were right to reject him," Katie said, glancing back at me. Seamus smiled and waved at us from over at a table and Ginny turned around where she was sitting beside Alicia. As we approached the table, Seamus stood up and I watched Katie walk into his arms where they kissed for a few seconds. It was strange seeing two of my friends be like that, but I felt happy for them. Draco popped into my head again when they finally pulled away from each other's lips. _No, you will not think about him. You have to stop thinking about him_. I stared at my hands and then went to sit down beside Ginny…

After I spent a few days at Katie's I told her I wanted to go home to see my family for a bit. I knew she wouldn't mind; we must've done just about everything there was to do, so I wanted time to myself. As I finished putting my stuff away in my trunk where I was in Katie's room, I couldn't ignore the thoughts as Draco started to fill my mind again. I sighed and turned to the mirror, letting my hair down and tousling it so that my eyes were half covered. I closed them and took a deep breath, trying to relax. I opened my eyes and found the familiar blues looking out of the mirror at me. I gasped and my heart jumped as I stared back at him, throwing my hands over my mouth and falling on Katie's bed as I tripped over my trunk. I fell on my back for a second before shooting up and staring into the full length mirror. Draco was gone. It was really him; he'd been there for an instant, and I knew it. I started to realize that it was his way of stealing glances, and with the tiniest bit of discomfort, I wondered if he'd peeked before while I was getting dressed. He was really there. At least I knew that I wasn't going crazy. As I left Katie's and disapparated to my house, I immediately realized that my parents weren't home. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and they were still working. With a sigh I pointed my wand at my trunk and caused it to float up the stairs towards my bedroom. I opened the door with a flick of my wand, stepping out of my boots, and as I entered the doorway, I dropped my wand in shock. Draco turned around slowly to face me, casually tossing what I recognized to be a cardigan of mine on my bed. I wondered why I hadn't felt him before I even reached my room; I should have sensed him as I was walking up the stairs.

"How the fuck did you get into my house? It's charmed—not just _anyone_ can apparate in," I said. For once Draco wasn't in all black, which caused him to look a lot less sinister as he took a few steps towards me. I snatched my wand up off the floor and backed up until I was leaning against the railing in the hall.

"I can feel you _all the time_, every day, every minute." Draco stepped out of the dimness of my room and I swear he was even paler than usual, which was really something considering how fair he was. He looked exhausted, somewhat deranged even and it frightened me.

"Don't try and tell me that you don't feel me too."

"I want you to go away," I said quietly.

"No, you don't want me to go away."

"How did you get in?" I asked again. Draco stared me in the eyes and grabbed the end of my wand, slowly forcing it down until I just let him take it out of my hand. As if I'd have used it on him, anyway.

"I just kept thinking about you, like I have been ever since all of this started. I disapparated and found myself here," he said, sparing a glance to the left and right of the hallway. I felt something touch me lightly and glanced down to find Draco placing my wand inside my pocket.

"So first you spy on me, and then you break into my room and start stealing things?" I asked, glaring and inching away from him as far as I could, considering I was already leaning against the rail.

"I _had_ to see you," Draco said desperately, this twinge of insanity in his eyes for a second as he knew I'd caught him looking at me through mirrors.

"Don't waste your time trying to convince me to forgive you," I said,

"You know what's going to happen," Draco began, "the same thing that always happens."

"…Get out of my house," I said, closing my eyes. I felt a warm hand on my cheek and cringed.

"You'll say you hate me," Draco began, lowering his voice, which I felt nearer my face than it was a second before, "tell me I'm evil—"

"_Stop it_—"

"Tell me that you never want to see me again."

I felt his arms like serpents begin to wind around my waist.

"Draco, stop—"

"You'll tell me to stop touching you," he whispered, and I felt his breath near my lips, hot like the opening to hell and sweet with lust. They pressed against mine slowly and carefully. Tears escaped my eyes and I finally opened them and pushed Draco as hard as I could, but to my dismay, I managed to cause myself to fall over the banister in my struggle. I screamed as I caught a baluster with one hand, glancing down at the floor below where death waited for me. Draco had panicked and screamed for me. I reached up with my other hand and caught another baluster. I stared at the floor, my legs swinging slightly. Hastily I felt hot hands on my wrists. I looked up into Draco's terrified face. Tears fell out of my eyes and down below. I was sure I would die.

"Hang on," Draco said, his grip tightening. I closed my eyes for a moment and just sobbed.

"Just let me go," I said, wondering if it would have been so bad had I honestly died.

"_What_? I'm not letting you go," Draco responded in disbelief. I struggled against his grasp and caused him to lose hold of my right hand.

"Angelina!" he screamed, even further mortified by my sudden loss of will to survive.

"Don't help me!" I screamed up at him. He shook his head and looked at me like I was a madwoman.

"_Please_, Draco, just let me _fall_!" I begged, sobbing out each word. He reached for his wand with his free hand and pointed it at me. I felt myself rising swiftly and was forced to let go of the banister. Draco stood up and caught me as I floated back up over the banister. Quickly, he carried me into my room and sat me on the bed, where I fell to my side hopelessly and cried.

"You wanted me to let you _die_? Why would I do that?" Draco asked, glancing me over repeatedly as if he might find something wrong to fix. All I did was cry in response.

"Angelina," Draco said quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed. He grasped my hand and held it, interlacing his fingers between mine.

"I could have lost you," he said.

"You already _have_," I spat, sitting up and pulling my hand away. Draco became angry.

"So we're back to this?" he asked sarcastically.

I reached for the lamp on my nightstand and hurled it towards Draco, who dodged with such a swiftness that I swore he blinked for a second.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" he asked as the lamp shattered on the wall behind him. I went for the hand mirror sitting on my bureau next. Draco flicked his wand at it and it froze right before it hit him in the face. He grabbed it and placed it down on the floor. I snatched up a pillow and hurled it at him, which clearly didn't cause any real damage as he caught it and threw it aside. At this he laughed and it enraged me further. Breathing heavily and angrily, I stood on the other side of my room and glared at him.

"My, you are sexy when you have a temper," Draco said, staring me from head to toe slowly as he approached.

"I don't want to see you, and I don't want to talk to you," I said.

"Lies; you're never good at telling them," he said. I drew my wand from my pocket and shot a spell at Draco, which he shielded himself from and finally closed the gap between us.

"Stop trying to fight me. It never lasts for long," he said.

"My god, just _give in_…you're so much stronger than me, but you know it deep down that you can't hate me. It's not in you," he said, cornering me.

"Why won't you just leave me alone? Just let me enjoy my vacation."

"Because I _can't_!" Draco screamed, slamming his fists against the wall behind me, causing me to jump for a second.

"You tell me how bad I am all the time but you put me through so much pain when you do this," he explained. I pressed my hands to his stomach, and paused there. I wanted to push him, but I didn't. Draco smirked. I could feel his abdomen thoroughly through the thinness of the blouse he was wearing.

"Touch me," he whispered, pressing his forehead against mine and I leant back fully against the wall with a sigh. I kept my hands where they were.

"You know it's going to happen. It always does," he continued. I felt his lips on mine, gently at first, almost hesitantly, before he let loose and smothered me, tongue and all.

"You fucking piss me off," I said once he gave me the chance to breathe. Draco merely responded by lifting me up so that I drew my legs about his waist. He turned and let me fall on my back on my bed, the passion already rushing through my veins like lava. Draco pulled my socks off before going for my pants and tearing them down my legs, and he leaned atop me and I began to unbutton his shirt. I felt his hand slide up my inner thigh and he touched me between my legs roughly. I finally got his shirt off and he was unzipping his pants before letting them drop, my eyes watching him as I inched further back in bed. Draco grabbed me by the back of the knees and pulled me towards him, parting my legs and pressing between them. He groaned and I felt how hard he was. His hands scratched my lower back and dug under the waistband of my panties before pulling them off. I sat up and kissed him, throwing my arms around his neck. I felt my skin burn with anticipation when Draco passed his hands down my spine before holding me to him and I sat in his lap straddling him. We kissed wildly, as if we hadn't done before. And then he coaxed me to lie down, taking my left leg in his hands and kissing from my knee down my shin, clutching my foot as he did so. He did the same with my right leg before gripping my waist and kissing my stomach and sides. Draco took his time with each part of my body, making honest love to it. I grew achey with arousal and needed to feel him inside of me. As if he'd read my mind, Draco pulled his boxers off and positioned himself on top of me. I gasped at the thickness of his length and arched my back, moaning. Draco groaned with relief and paused, having let himself in. He gazed down at me, the both of us breathing heavily. I couldn't deny feeling pleasure at his stomach pressing against mine on our inhale and the way he began to roll his hips delicately. He started off much gentler than usual and I knocked my hips up with impatience. Draco lulled me and shushed me, wanting to take his sweet time. I rubbed his back with gratitude, letting my hands slide over his buttocks and feeling them tighten when he'd thrust forward. We became one body and soul intertwined, breathing the same air. I gazed into his eyes for so long that soon I didn't see anything else but his blue stare. Something about this time was so different…maybe it was because we were in my bed, or maybe because of what had just happened; perhaps because of the pointless fight before, my weak attempts to refuse him when I knew how right it would feel to have him lie on me in amorousness. I gripped Draco's shoulders, wetting fiercely. He began to speed up and I moaned more, passing my hands through his soft hair. Draco grew red in the face and chest, sweating a bit. I felt him all over me, inside and out, and it felt good as I closed my eyes to revel in the moment. We climaxed together, Draco pressing his forehead and nose against mine in the moment, his moans leaking into my mouth and lingering in my ears like a strange song that I'd never forget. Draco pressed his palms against mine, pinning my hands down against the quilt and kissing me breathlessly. After a minute or so, he let go and I gripped his lower back, wanting him to stay. He still thrusted a while, calmly, resting with his forearms on either side of me, playing with my hair. I admired his face, smoothing the brows and tracing the lips. He was like looking at a painting as the colour restored itself to his face and his eyes brightened with life. He was so much more alive.

"I told you what would happen," Draco whispered with a little grin. I almost hated him again and fought the urge to push him off me. He stopped moving and blinked down at me.

"Fuck," I said absently, still searching his face as if to find some sort of answer. Draco kissed my chin and sighed, his breath hitting me like a wave. He lay on his side tiredly. I sat up and stared around my room which I hadn't been in since the end of the summer, our clothes thrown carelessly around my bed. Draco clutched my hip.

"Please, just lay with me. Let's not start another fight."

I glanced over at the open door.

"Let me close that first," I said. I got up and walked to my bedroom door, closed it and turned the lock. When I made my way back to bed, Draco was watching me interestedly.

Slowly, I lay down next to him and he tucked my hair behind my ear, kissing my forehead now and then and rubbing my naked side with a hot hand before he lay down as well. He pulled me closer to the warmth of his body and I leaned in under it a ways. I rested my head on his shoulder and felt weary…I was dreaming. All I could hear was screaming…Draco screaming, voices screaming in what sounded like utmost agony. The voice changed to one I couldn't quite place, but it was horrifying. There was so much pain, so much feral evil, and I could see blood. Suddenly it felt as if I were being squeezed, like someone was trying to squeeze me to death, trying to squeeze the very soul out of me. I'd relax and the hold tightened. But when I fought, it loosened. The arms of a skeleton were wrapped around me and I felt terrified. When I woke up with a gasp, it was dark. I was still in my room and I was still in Draco's arms, the moonlight glinting off his pale skin with an almost blue tint. He wasn't squeezing me the way I'd felt it in the dream, but as I looked down at his left arm, something appeared to be moving on it, something dark. I sat up a bit and turned Draco's arm out carefully, being sure not to wake him. It was in fact something dark on the inside of his arm, and with utter amazement, I wondered how the _hell _I hadn't noticed it before. The serpent moved tortuously like it was alive. I'd been holding Draco's arm near my eyes to make it out in the darkness. It filled me with such unease that I dropped his limb and backed away. Draco awoke with a start and sat up straight. His brow was sweaty, and I wondered if it had been _his_ nightmare I was having. He looked at me for a second or two before getting out of my bed and stepping into the bathroom where he turned on the light. I heard the water running.

"Draco?" I called, sitting on the edge of my bed. But before I could get up, he'd closed the door and I heard the lock click. I thought I could hear him breathing heavily, or rather, hyperventilating as I stood and stared at the bathroom door.

"Draco?" I asked gently, knocking. The water stopped running and I heard breathing. Draco sounded as if he were sobbing. I turned the knob but he'd conveniently locked the door.

"It's nothing—I'm fine!" he called from inside the bathroom. "Go back to sleep," he said. I decided it would be pointless to try and get in, so I walked back over to my bed and sat there. And then I wanted to turn on the lamp. Forgetting that I'd broken it earlier, I searched for my wand in the dark, and then I repaired the lamp and turned it on. I folded my knees to my chest and just waited for Draco to come back. After about five minutes, the bathroom door opened and Draco stepped out. He immediately went for his clothes on the floor and started putting them on.

"What happened?" I asked, standing up and approaching him. Draco had this panicked expression, which he hid from me by facing the opposite direction as he stepped into his pants.

"Draco?" I asked. He turned around, not even bothering to button his shirt.

"I've got to go," he said.

"What? Why? What did I do?" I asked, suddenly wondering if I'd caused him to want to leave.

"Nothing. You didn't do anything," he said in an assuring tone, grabbing my waist when I approached him.

"What was that, a nightmare?" I asked. He was silent, but he knew that I knew.

"Draco, what was it? And why didn't I notice this befo—?"

"It's nothing," Draco said cutting me off as I reached for his arm, the one on which I was sure I'd seen the Dark Mark a few moments ago.

"It's _not_ nothing," I said, growing upset. "Tell me what—"

"_Listen_ to me," Draco said, holding his arm out of reach, "I've got to go, okay?" I felt the tears filling my eyes and he pulled me close for a second, holding my face in both hands.

"There's something I have to do. I have to go."

I opened my mouth but found myself at a loss for words. Draco kissed me, persuading me to sit back on the bed where he knelt in front of me and stared up into my eyes.

"Don't try to find me," he said. There was such graveness in the way he'd said it that I knew something was wrong.

"I'll come to you, okay?" he said, holding my chin in his hand. He then stood up and stared down at me for a few seconds before disapparating out of my sight.


	18. Chapter 18

*Hello again, quick note, I'm nearing the end of this story, because I already know how I want it to end. I generally have a hard time ending things and then stories run on with no real plot left, but I know what I want the outcome of this story to be, so I may be finished with it in another two chapters. Thanks again for all your support! -diamondwine

I had breakfast with my parents, who hadn't even known that I'd come home until I showed up in the kitchen in my pajamas, not having showered yet or brushed my teeth. They asked me how school was going and if I'd done anything interesting with my friends. They hugged me, they loved me, the usual. But all I could think about was Draco and wonder what had happened last night. I just wanted to see him. I hoped everything was okay. I tried to convince myself that it wasn't the Dark Mark on Draco's arm. It was a dream—I didn't see it. It wasn't real. I had to tell myself this so I wouldn't fall apart. It was Christmas Eve and the day of the party at the Burrow. I went over in the afternoon, tried to keep a straight face and laugh like I meant it at Fred and George's jokes. Everyone was there and I tried to make the most of it. I reached into my purse for my compact mirror to check on my face, but it wasn't where I remembered it being. I turned my bag inside out looking for it.

"What's up?" Ginny asked picking up on my frustration.

"Can't find my little mirror thing. Could've sworn it was in here."

"There's a mirror in the bathroom," Ginny said, pointing upstairs, and I excused myself to go to the bathroom, nearly bumping into Luna who was walking down the steps. When I got into the bathroom I washed my hands and checked my eye which had been bothering me. As I expected, one of my curly lashes had folded inward and was rubbing against my eye. I grunted and fixed it out of the way. As I was staring at my eye in the mirror, it changed from brown to blue and I jumped back a bit, seeing Draco for a flash of a second before he disappeared.

"Draco," I said, wondering how he did that and where he was, how he knew when to look, how he knew when I'd be in front of a mirror. I leant back against the wall, clutching my heart. I wanted to be in Draco's arms again. Somebody knocked and it startled me.

"Just a second," I called, pushing off the wall and looking at myself one more time before swinging the door open. Fred stood there smiling.

"Oh, hey Angie," he said, walking in past me as I walked out past him.

"Fred," I said. I started down the stairs distractedly. At the last two or three steps I stumbled and nearly fell, but somebody was coming up and caught me just in time.

"Bloody hell. Trying to off yourself?" George asked jokingly, smiling down at me. He smelled like Firewhiskey and his face was warm with mirth. I laughed, fixing my skirt.

"Are you alright?" George asked. I guessed I wasn't hiding the discomfort on my face very well.

"Mhmm," I said, as he steadied me on my feet.

"Better get back to the party. I've got to take a leak!" he said, rushing up the stairs to the bathroom. Parvati and Padma Patil had just arrived and said hello to me as I went back into the cozy den, which was becoming overly crowded. Seamus and Katie were snogging in a corner. Harry was talking about something to Ron while Ginny rested her head on his shoulder. Neville appeared to be thoroughly interested in whatever it was Luna was explaining to him. Alicia was playing chess with Dean at the table, Cho and Lee arguing over the scores. Though I was amongst friends, I started to feel lonelier as I stood by the Christmas tree where Hermione fixed a star at the top and Ron fixed another ornament to one of its branches. Mrs. Weasley came into the crowded room and offered me more pumpkin juice, which I smiled and took politely. I sat down and watched Alicia and Dean play chess, until it got late and I went home. My parents were both asleep by the time I got in. I went into my bathroom and ran a bath after I brushed my teeth. I closed my eyes, sinking into the hot water and imagining that it was Draco holding me. I went to sleep alone, and felt so lonely that I actually cried…

Christmas was okay. My parents had gone out of their way getting me gifts. Katie, Alicia, Ginny, and Hermione came over to my place to exchange gifts before I went with them back to the Burrow for a bit. I basically spent the day running round with all my friends. When the sun went down and everyone returned to their family's houses, I didn't go home. I thought of Diagon Alley and apparated there. Though all the shops were closed for the holiday, I walked down the lighted cobblestone alley, glancing in windows at things every now and then. A deathly cold breeze came round the corner where Knocturn Alley was and I paused. It was so dark there, not a single light flickering. I stared down the dark alley, for some odd reason unable to move away from it. I just watched, pulling my arms around myself in the cold. I realized that I probably shouldn't have been somewhere as dangerous as that without anyone else. I wasn't sure what I was doing there anyway…perhaps I was just hoping I'd run into Draco. The eerie feeling intensified and I took a few steps back, disapparating home to my room.

I awoke in the early hours the day after Christmas, some strange feeling pulling me from my sleep. I sat up and turned on my lamp to find Draco standing at the foot of my bed. I screamed, not having expected to see anyone there.

"You nearly scared me to _death_…" Draco looked a bit upset and I stood out of my bed, not taking my eyes off him from where he stood. He never turned but stayed standing still where he was.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Draco?" I asked lightly, wondering what I should do. Something dropped to the floor with a _clink_ and Draco's wand rolled towards my feet, stopping there. Slowly, I leant down to pick it up, but Draco wasn't waiting for me to hand it to him.

"Draco?" I whispered. He didn't move. I started to pull off his blazer, resting it on the post of my bed. He looked over at me slowly.

"Are you okay?" I asked, pressing my hand to his cheek, which felt warm. He closed his eyes and leant into my hand.

"What's the matter?" I asked. Draco opened his eyes and pulled me in for a hug. I figured he was too tired to speak, or didn't want to. He nuzzled his face into my neck and I felt something hot and wet drip onto my skin. He was crying. I led him to my bed where he sat down. I leaned over and pulled his shoes off his feet. He looked at me helplessly.

"Did something happen?" I asked, even though I knew I wasn't going to get an answer out of him. Draco simply pulled me into his lap and held onto me rather tightly, sobbing quietly. I reached around his back and rubbed it comfortingly. As the seconds passed, he began to cry audibly. I readjusted myself in his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck, stroking his head calmingly.

"It's okay," I whispered, though I knew that whatever it was he was dealing with must have been heavy. It wasn't okay. He wouldn't even speak. Eventually I lay down and Draco rested against my chest. I just held him to me until he began to calm down.

"Draco…I love you," I said, and he stopped crying. I turned off the lamp and we went to sleep. When I woke up, the sun was coming in somewhat blindingly off the white snow. I reached over, still blinking awake, but didn't feel Draco beside me. I looked and saw him sitting there, his back pale and bare as he stared out the window. He sighed deeply, seemingly unaware that I was awake.

"Angelina, are you up? Breakfast," my mum called. Draco's head turned slightly in the direction of her voice but he stayed seated. I stared at the scar on his back for a few seconds before I reached out slowly to touch him. He jumped slightly, as if he'd been totally unaware of my presence. I could see his eye for a second where he glanced back at me. He sat still.

"Draco," I said. He didn't speak. He hung his head and rested it in his hands, massaging his neck in a stressed manner.

"What's the matter?" I asked, honestly worried about him. It wasn't like him to be so silent. It was starting to scare me. I inched towards him carefully and rested my body against his back, massaging his shoulders.

"I-it's nothing. I'm fine, Lina," he muttered. He didn't sound convincing.

"Draco, you can talk to me. Why else would you have come to me?" I asked. He didn't respond but started to rub his temples.

"If something's bothering you—"

"Just come off it—I'm _fine_!" Draco snarled. I tried not to get angry with his response.

"I just want to help you," I said, pausing in rubbing his shoulders. Draco sat up straight, all the tendons in his shoulders and back tight with stress.

"Yeah, well, you can't," he said plainly.

"Well, if it helps you to get things off your chest, you can talk. I'll listen," I said gently.

"I don't want to talk," Draco said shortly. I closed my eyes and counted to three in my head before getting off him. He turned around slightly, looking somewhat confused as to why I had moved away from him. I got up out of my bed and started to walk around it towards the bathroom. Before I could get inside the door, Draco grabbed my arm.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't meant to yell at you." I looked at him for an instant before going into the bathroom and closing the door. I started brushing my teeth. I listened as Draco walked around outside in my room. It sounded as if he were pacing. He knew that I knew something was going on, but I knew he wasn't going to tell me about it, lest we get into a fight, as always. Perhaps between us there were some things better left unsaid. I just wondered why he would have come to me, clearly in a time of need, and still keep me at such a distance. It frustrated me that he wouldn't tell me things. I knew they were bad things, things he didn't like to do, and maybe he didn't want to tell me because he didn't want me to say how bad he was. I could get so angry that I would tear him apart verbally. But I wondered how he could really have blamed me after all he'd put me through. When I came out of the bathroom, Draco was looking out my bedroom window.

"You think I don't want to tell you, but I do. I just can't," he said. I approached him and he turned to me, finally giving me his full attention.

"I _know_ there are things going on with Voldemort that somehow involve you and your family, and there are things you've done that you didn't want to do. So why do you _still_ feel like you have to hide everything from me? Honestly, at this point, I'm sure anything you say couldn't surprise me," I said.

"If anyone found out about us, he'd make me kill you to prove myself," Draco said and then I couldn't speak. It wasn't like I didn't already know this, and I didn't have to ask to know who he was talking about.

"I hate it when you keep me in the dark. You don't _have_ to do that anymore—"

"Yes, _I do_, otherwise something could happen to you. Something could happen to me…"

I thought about Draco's nightmare, where he was screaming. It clicked that he must've been nightmaring about Voldemort killing him, killing his family. It weighed on him so heavily and I could feel it.

"That's what the nightmare was, wasn't it?" I asked, reaching for Draco's arm. He closed his eyes and faced the window again.

"It's so hard," he said through gritted teeth.

"I can't get out. There's _nothing_ I can do…" he looked at me again and his eyes were welled up.

"If you stay with me, Angelina…"

"We'll…we'll figure it out…it'll all be sorted out in the end—I know it. Voldemort won't win, and everything can go back to normal—"

"That's _never_ going to happen! Not as long as there are Death Eaters, not when he gets rid of—" Draco cut himself short and bit his lips as if trying to prevent himself from speaking.

"I've said too much already," he said to himself, shaking his head.

"Draco—"

"We can't see each other anymore," he said, taking my hand off his arm and letting it go.

"What?"

"Angelina, are you up yet? I've made pancakes," my mum called.

"Angelina?" I heard her coming up the stairs and immediately shoved Draco.

"Hang _on_, mum!" I called impatiently. I shoved Draco towards the closet and he went in. I saw his clothes on the floor and kicked them under my bed just in time before my mum opened my door.

"Angie, are you going to want breakfast?" she asked.

"It's going to get cold."

"So I'll warm it up, mum," I said impatiently. I glanced at the closet for a second which was open a bit but not enough to see Draco.

"Is everything okay? I feel like I haven't been able to just sit down and talk to you in ages," said my mum.

"It's fine," I said with a sigh.

"Will you just give me a minute so I can get ready, and then I'll come down?"

"Alright…What's this?" she asked, picking up Draco's blazer from my bed post. My eyes were wide for a second before I calmed my face down.

"Looks like a guy's…where'd you get it?" she asked, turning it round in her hands.

"Er—thrift shop with Katie. It was supposed to be a gift for Fred, but I forgot to wrap it," I explained.

"How sweet of you, love," my mum smiled.

"Whoa, Angie, this looks wicked expensive," said my mother, admiring the fabric.

"How much did you spend?"

"I don't remember," I lied.

"Angelina…this is from Twilfit and Tatting's. Where'd you get the galleons for _this_?"

"I saved up from my summer job," I said, lying even more.

"Want me to wrap it for you and you can drop it by the Weasley's?"

"No," I said, snatching the blazer back from her.

"No. I'll do it myself," I said.

"Well alright, then. I'll keep your pancakes warm," said my mother, giving me a hug and kiss.

"That's my baby," she said, and I groaned.

"Still my baby, doesn't matter how old," she said in her usual way before leaving my room, closing the door gently behind her. I waited until I heard her start to go down the stairs before locking my door. When I turned around Draco had already stepped out of the closet and started putting his clothes back on.

"You've finally learned how to lie," he said.

"What were you saying?" I asked, approaching him. Draco reached for his blazer but I snatched it back. He sighed.

"Do you love me?" Draco asked.

"Are you really asking me that?"

"Just answer the question, Angelina," Draco said firmly. I felt tears sting my eyes but I wasn't sure why.

"_Yes_ I do," I said. Draco stepped closer to me until he could hold me. He kissed me for a long time, and then I felt him take the blazer out of my hand, and he put it on.

"Then you have to stay away. It's too dangerous now," he said.

"Draco, what are you _talking_ about?"

He scanned my face as if trying to memorize it.

"I can't tell you," he said.

"_Enough of that bullshit_."

"No, you don't understand. This time it's really too dangerous—I can't keep sneaking away to see you…there's something I have to do, something I know you won't like, and I can't have you with me when I have to do it."

I started to cry then, uncontrollably. Draco's eyes were welled up but he held the tears back.

"I _can't_ let anything happen to you because of me. I wish it could be different, but it isn't."

"You can't play with me like this," I said, pushing him. He pulled me back to him.

"Draco," I said angrily, though my eyes were like rivers.

"I love you," he said, holding me for a minute with his lips pressed to my forehead. He waited until I stopped crying before pulling away from me.

"Draco, don't," I begged, but at the same time as I reached for him, he disapparated and my grasp fell on flat air.


	19. Chapter 19

*Song for this finale: Bush – Letting the Cables Sleep. I think I have a sequel in mind…

I didn't see Draco again for the rest of the holiday. The day that I returned to Hogwarts, I didn't feel him when I was on the train. I napped on the way to the castle, somebody shaking me awake gently when we arrived. I looked up at Katie, who asked me if I was okay. I nodded sleepily and grabbed my bag before getting up. The sun was setting and it was still cold as death. Draco wasn't there and I knew it as we approached the castle. I was barely able to eat, I was so distracted. I excused myself early to go to bed. When I was in the shower, I closed my eyes as the hot water hit my face. I wrapped my arms around myself, wishing they were Draco's. I didn't know when I would see him again. I began to wonder if he'd pulled out of Hogwarts altogether. All I wanted was to know what the hell was going on. I felt frustrated as I dried off and went into the dormitories to get dressed. I lay in bed and slept, dreaming of things that I'd never dreamt before. It was almost like I was watching a film, seeing through someone else's eyes…an overwhelming sense of worry and perturbation filled me and my thoughts ran rampantly, but they weren't _my_ thoughts. It had to be Draco's dreams I was in again. He was walking in a place I'd never seen before. It was rather dark and hard to see as he closed a door and paused. I heard voices arguing on the other side of the door. Draco was listening.

"We can't back out now—it's too late," said a man's voice.

"We can't make him do this," came the voice of a very worried woman. She sounded close to tears.

"It's _too late_. The decision has already been made…listen to me—listen," the man continued.

"_If we do this we'll save ourselves_. We won't last if we _don't_. There's nothing we can do now." The feeling of worry intensified. I heard a choked exhaling as I woke up. I was still in my bed in the girl's dorm. I was starting to feel very frightened, as if something was coming, something that nobody could stop…

An entire week passed before I saw Draco again. He was over at Slytherin's table eating breakfast, gazing uninterestedly down into his plate. Goyle nudged him but he paid no mind. It was almost as if he were in a trance as he stared at his breakfast. I knew he felt me as much as I felt him from across the Great Hall, but he never looked up at me.

"You look like you're going to cry," Lavender said, breaking me out of my state. I must've developed an expression on my face while I gazed over at Draco.

"Are you _okay_?"

"I don't want to be late for class," I said, standing up and walking down through the aisle to the doors of the Great Hall. There were at least thirty more minutes before class, but I couldn't stand it to be in the same room with Draco and not break down…

When Quidditch resumed as spring began, I found myself playing worse than usual. It was too much of a distraction to think about being on the pitch and playing against Slytherin with Draco there. I made sure to keep as far away from Draco as possible on my broom, but every now and then I would feel the pull between us and slow to a stop in my path. I didn't have to feel strained for too long, as Harry made it a quick game, catching the snitch before the game went on an hour. I stopped seeing Draco in the classes we were in together. One day he walked into potions for the mid-semester exam and I could barely focus, though he was sitting on the other side of the room. I knew he felt me there just as much. The tension between us was enough to cut stones, and I began rushing to try and finish as students handed in their tests, filing out of the room, until finally, it was just Draco and I sitting there.

"Four or five minutes more, Ms. Johnson, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Slughorn warned. I racked my brain and scribbled down the last step in the antidote to bowtruckle poison. I looked over my last set of answers frantically, checking that they were correct before I got up and rushed to the front to hand in my exam.

"Ah, Ms. Johnson," Professor Slughorn beamed, "Great timing!"

"Fifty seconds, Mr. Malfoy."

I heard Draco inhale impatiently. As I turned to start towards my bag, it felt like I was in slow motion passing Draco, whose gaze turned up to me from beneath his brows. My heart jumped so hard that I felt it crash against my bones. I went to my seat and packed away my quill, exiting the room just as Draco handed in his exam to Professor Slughorn. I hurried along the dungeon hall, stopping dead in my tracks when I felt Draco's presence at the end of the hall. I turned around slowly and he just stood there looking at me from a little ways down the corridor. His expression was blank as if he were trying not to show any emotion. Though he did this, I knew he felt just how I felt. I knew how much he wanted to be near me, as I wanted to be near him, but he didn't take another step. Slowly, I turned and started to walk away, the intensity of the pull waning with every step I took…

It became easier to avoid each other in the castle and I wasn't seeing Draco around as much as usual. It was strange but I just tried to deal with it, and hope that sooner or later we would be able to reunite. The day that I Dumbledore died was one of the worst I'd ever had. I stood in the crowd outside the grounds, surrounding Harry and the headmaster. It was like I was inside of a nightmare and no one could speak, the pain was so tangible. The Dark Mark loomed in the sky above threateningly. I caught a glimpse of something pale in the crowd. Once my gaze connected with Draco, I saw the mortified look on his face. And then he saw me. I stared at him. He slowly backed into the crowd, nearly disappearing amongst students. But I could see his movement swiftly maneuvering through devastated faces and with rage in my heart, I followed. He couldn't evade me, even when I didn't see him; the piece of my soul lodged in his own helped me stay on track as I felt its pull. Draco had run into the boy's lavatory. That wasn't going to stop me. I drew my wand and burst in, Draco in a corner already watching the door. He'd known I was coming.

"Did you do it?" I screamed, the tears running like hot drops of fire down my cheeks as I staggered towards him.

"_Did you do it_?"

"No!" Draco screamed. I pointed my wand at his throat.

"Am I lying? Am I lying, Angelina?" he asked me, grabbing my hand and placing it over his heart. He wasn't lying, I could feel it. Draco's eyes dripped slowly.

"You had something to do with this," I said, throwing the pieces together.

"I didn't _do it_," Draco said. I knew he wasn't lying about that, but it didn't matter. I took a few steps back from him, still pointing my wand, ripping my hand out of his grasp.

"It doesn't matter," I said, crying.

"What are you going to do to me?" Draco asked, stepping away from the wall. He wouldn't stop coming towards me.

"If you want to kill me, I want you to do it," he said. And as I looked into his wet eyes, I knew that this too was no lie.

"I loved you _so_ much," I said, barely able to breathe. Draco's lip trembled as I uttered the words I'd tried to throw away from my memory several times before, "Converterent animas."

There was a bright flash, like lightning, and wind like a storm. It was so strong that it pushed me away and everything went white for a flash of a second. I felt something leave me, something that had been sitting in the pit of me. For a moment I wanted to hold onto it so badly. I didn't want to lose whatever it was but it left me, and was replaced by something else. I hadn't felt so whole in as long as I could remember. Draco was leaning against the wall again, his eyes closed from the impact. I watched something silvery and amorphous dissolve into his chest, and I knew what it was. As I stood up straight, I knew what I'd done. Draco slowly opened his eyes and looked at me, as if to ask what I'd done, or maybe to ask me why. Though I no longer felt the pull between us, it took so much strength to walk away, and as I did so, I had never broken so badly…

Dumbledore's funeral was quiet, except for the sniffles and sobs I could hear when I wasn't focusing on Fawkes' song as he soared overhead. I could see Draco from where I was standing between a saddened Fred and George, my arms linked in theirs. Draco was standing in the crowd alone, and I suddenly felt the same. He pulled something from his pocket, and with a jump in my chest, I recognized it to be my compact mirror that I hadn't seen in some time. He opened the small circle, the diamonds on the floral pattern sparkling, though the sky was overcast. He stared into it for a few seconds, and then scanned the crowd, catching my eye. As Draco looked at me fearlessly, he knew I could see what he was holding. His white fingers brushed over the shiny compact, and for a moment it was as if no one else was in the crowd, like it was just the two of us standing there, and as his thumb brushed over the elaborate design shutting the mirror, I imagined it brushing over my lips, as it had done many times before. Draco looked down at the mirror in his hand and quietly tucked it back inside his robes.

The End


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